PDF - IEC e-tech

Transcription

PDF - IEC e-tech

e-tech
News & views
from the IEC
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014
MULTIMEDIA &
APPLIANCES
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
CES 2014 trends
MEMS
The Internet of Things
IEC CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT
2014 IECEx
International Conference
in Malaysia
CONTENTS
6
10
11
14
26
48
6 At CES, hundreds of companies presented connected devices that aim to give us more control over our bodies and the things that surround
us 10 High-performance audio is making a significant comeback with connected and wireless devices 11 MEMS, tiny electromechanical systems,
are now an indispensable component of any piece of electronic equipment 14 At CES, a group of experts shared some of the opportunities and
hurdles facing the Internet of Things in the consumer space 26 Dr Alan Hodgson, Chair of IEC TC 119, provides an update on the set up of the
TC structure 48 IEC announced the publication of the first globally relevant Technical Specification for a single external charger for a wide range of
notebook computers and laptops
Multimedia and
appliances
This issue of e-tech focuses
on technological evolution in
multimedia and appliances.
The 2014 International CES
showcased not only products
that have just reached the
marketplace, but also a
wide range of technological
innovations that may bring
fundamental changes in our
lives in the not so distant future.
EDITORIAL
CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT
Connected 24/7
IECEE – Nightmare of a child
chewing on a cord
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
Tech trends 2014
A CA perspective from Turkey
CES 2014 megatrends
2014 IECEx International
Conference in Malaysia
Advanced displays for better
content
High-performance audio –
Back with a vengeance!
IECQ – Gifts that can be hazardous
World Electronics Forum
IEC FAMILY
Tiny MEMS – Huge impact
on our digital future
Introducing the IEC 2013 Young
Professional Leaders
Closer ties to build trade
and share experience
Standards in the Cloud
A focus on industry and evolution
More content down
the same pipe
ACEA nominations
Food print
Obituary – Professor Takashi Tomita
INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT
IEC WORLD
Connecting homes, connecting
things
International Standards for
sustainable energy
TECHNICAL COMMITTEE AFFAIRS
Global Visions: Allow
interoperability – Secure investment
TC 119 – Gearing up for
standardization
IN STORE
Small or huge –
displays are everywhere
Single charger for notebook computers
Protecting rights
2
e-tech I January/February 2014
EDITORIAL
Connected 24/7
Smarter and smaller devices help us monitor every aspect of our lives
The 2014 International CES (Consumer Electronics Show), held on 7-10 January
2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, lived up to its reputation, showcasing
not only products that have just reached the marketplace, but also a wide range
of technological innovations that may bring fundamental changes in our lives in
the not so distant future.
Connected wearables were trending big this year. Smart bands monitoring your sleep,
steps or heart beats; a smart collar to check your dog’s activity, rest and respiration rate;
a designer bracelet letting you know when your skin has had enough exposure to the sun;
a connected pillbox to help you take your medication at the right moment, are just a few
of the innovative devices that were presented at CES.
Claire Marchand
Managing Editor e-tech
Apart from wearables, this issue of e-tech focuses on recent developments in highperformance audio, UHDTV (ultra-high definition TV), the Internet of Things and home
automation. It also includes the technology forecast of Shawn DuBravac, Chief Analyst
and Director of Research of CEA (Consumer Electronics Association), which organizes the
yearly International CES.
Also featured are MEMS, these tiny electromechanical systems that are now an
indispensable component of any piece of electronic equipment, from smart phones, to
tablets, to wearable devices, cars, aeronautics and much more.
The IEC, through several of its Technical Committees, has worked to prepare International
Standards that lay out safety and performance requirements for those technologies.
This smart watch keeps you connected to your
phone via Bluetooth and via its touchscreen,
acts as a wireless dialer, allowing users to handle
calls directly from their wrist (Photo: My Kronoz)
The iHealth Blood Pressure Dock turns your iOS
device into your own blood pressure monitor
(Photo: iHealth)
January/February 2014 I e-tech
3
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
Tech trends 2014
Presentation by Shawn DuBravac, International CES in Las Vegas
(1881) and St. Louis (1904) saw the
introduction of numerous electrical
innovations that fundamentally changed
the daily lives of our grandparents. In
1906 the IEC was founded.
In 2013 the 3 rd industrial revolution
made a break-through ringing in an
era of mass customization. Mass
customization allows individuals to
tailor make a mass produced product.
Take for example a tennis shoe: with
mass customization customers were
given the opportunity to individually
select and combine different colours,
materials, soles and finishes to end up
with a shoe that very likely would be
unique in this combination. The same
was true for stamps or credit cards
and more recently electronics and
services provided for certain devices.
The expansion of multidimensional and curved screens, UHD TV are trending big
in electronics
Gabriela Ehrlich
The electronics industry is one of
the fastest innovating industries
globally. In 2013 USD 6 billion
worth of electronic products were
sold in categories that didn’t exist
just a few years ago, including for
example 3D printing, connected
devices or tablets. IEC work covers
a myriad of components, wires,
sensors, LEDs, semiconductors,
switches and protocols that allow
modern electronics to function
reliably and safely anywhere in
the world. While this presentation
focuses on CES trends in 2014,
broad electronic trends don’t
play out over a single calendar
year, they generally build up over
several years.
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The 3 rd industrial revolution –
mass customization
The first industrial revolution started
around 1760 and lasted until
approximately the 1830s. This was the
time when small shops and enterprises
combined into larger facilities and
factories. It was a move from hand
production, where everything was
individually built to the use of machines
and more standardized, exchangeable
methods. This was the very beginning
of mass production.
The second industrial revolution
happened between 1860 and WW II
when mass production capacity was fully
reached. During that time span electricity
and many different technologies were
added. Different World Fairs in Paris
3D printing
3D printing is a further expression of
this trend towards mass customization.
In 2010 the Makerbot, the first
consumer accessible 3D printer was
launched at CES with a price tag of
under USD 2 000. Today, at CES 2014
more than 30 companies exhibited
hardware, software and services for 3D
printing, including the first 3D scanner
for just over USD 500.
Evolution of the Internet
Today there are 2 billion desktop
computers and 1,5 billion smart phones
and tablets. In 2014 smart phones and
tablets will for the first time surpass the
number of installed desktops.
Until recently the Internet was a browserdriven experience. We are now moving
from a desktop Internet experience to a
mobile phone experience and then one
that’s driven by numerous connected
devices. According to CISCO, the
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
items such as household equipment,
watches and other devices; many with
screens that are smaller than 2,5 cm
(1 inch).
3D printing is a perfect example of the trend
towards mass customization
number of connected devices in the
market will reach 50 billion in 2014.
All of this is also changing how we use
the Internet. Initially, the Internet was
a shared experience – access to a
computer was shared by several people
in the household. This made place to
individual Internet access via mobile
devices and tablets. In the near future
we will experience customized niche
Internet access via connected devices.
Colour, resolution and shape
But size is only one dimension of what
has changed in screens over the past
2 or 3 years. In 2013 a single Ultra
HD Television was presented at CES;
this year dozens of companies sell
them. When the first Ultra HD TV was
launched movie directors remarked that
this was the first time they saw on a TV
what they see when they film. In 2014
UHD TV shipments are expected to
reach 485 000 up from 60 000 in 2013.
Flat screens are…flat. The latest
fashion is for curved screens both for
smart phones up to huge TVs.
Multidimensional screens
Another trend in electronics has been
the expansion of multidimensional
screens including a boost in resolution,
size and colour. In 2009 there were no
screens available beyond 135 cm (53
inches) and most Smart phone screens
were around 7.5 cm (3 inches). Now
TVs beyond 165 cm (65 inches) are
becoming quite common ans some of
the bigger smart phones boast 14 cm
(5,5 inches) screens.
Age of autonomy – Internet
everywhere
In 2006 sensors were rarely found
in electronics; they were generally
reserved for cameras and most were
used in airbags. In 2007 the iPhone was
launched and its accelerometer allowed
it to change screen direction depending
on how it was held. Since then the cost
for sensors has dramatically decreased
from approx. USD 7/unit to USD
0.60/unit today. There is not a single
technology where sensors today don’t
play a major role. They have literally
invaded everything enabling measuring,
data capture and constant feedback.
Any smart phone today has multiple
digital microphones to capture voice
and to cancel environmental noises, one
or more cameras, motion sensors and
more. And this is not the end. Sensors
and MEMS (micro-electromechanical
systems) will continue to change
electronics dramatically over the coming
years.
Over 270 million tablets are expected to
sell in 2014 up from 0 in 2009.
Beyond phones and TVs a multitude of
interactive screens are now found on
Hybrid innovation
Six or seven years ago car
manufacturers started to come for the
Such connected devices allow
consumers to experience different
activities such as keeping in touch and
playing with their dog when they are
travelling; checking the moisture level
of their plants; monitoring their heart
rate or insulin level, checking on the
daily activity level of their kids, and
much more.
first time to CES. Now many present
their new cars at CES. Where HP used
to be the most exciting measurement
for car performance in the past, today
it is design and electronics that drive
their sales.
Many accessories from cruise control
to parking sensors are now standard
equipment in modern cars. Short
of offering driverless cars, this year
at CES lane assist and automated
parking systems have been added
to the offer. Again, all of them make
extensive use of sensors as well
as front and rear cameras. The
integration of different technologies
with software and sensors leads to
massive amounts of data that bring on
fully autonomous solutions to complex
problems.
Digital everything
Today everything is digitized: from
life style and fi tness level, to posture,
eye movements, sleep patterns, door
locks, etc. Basically everything that
existed physically is now becoming
digital. Everything that was difficult
and cumbersome to measure is now
measured on the go. Data was always
available but it was never captured to
this extent and in such an organized
way. Many technologies help capture
data, those include radio for every
range, LTE 2G, 3G; Wi-Fi; Zigbee;
ANT+; -wave; Bluetooth, and more.
Constant monitoring and measuring
allows for constant adjustments. It
used to be that store prices were
fixed and only changed when new
products where delivered because it
involved the physical movement of an
employee to the shelf and that added
cost. Today prices change constantly
according to supply and demand and
they are remotely digitally controlled.
Curation & context
This constant feedback of data
provides opportunities for many new
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TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
information services. Those can include
recommendations for improved viewing
or reading, or pre-settings in devices
that take into account preferences such
as temperature or volume settings. If
we allow them to, in the future smart
devices may sense if a person is
depressed or stressed and propose an
appropriate entertainment programme
that takes into account overall genre
preferences. It may also register food
preferences and point to relevant menu
items in a restaurant. The possibilities
are near limitless.
Wearables and sensorization of
consumer tech is the biggest trend
in 2014.
The new Chevy MyLink display, with an icon for GM’s AppShop (Photo: Sean Gallagher, Ars
Technica)
2014 CES megatrends
Connected devices everywhere for everybody
Gabriela Ehrlich
From dog bracelets to pill boxes,
to devices that measure our
health and fi tness levels, the
Internet of Things has become
the Internet of Everything. At CES,
literally hundreds of companies
presented connected devices that
aim to give us more control over
our bodies and the things that
surround us. The combination
of new hardware with software
and data collection is bringing
new functions to everyday
things. IEC work including printed
electronics, MEMS, semiconductors
and innumerable other components
largely facilitates the broad
development and roll-out of
these technologies.
A megatrend in 2014 are connected
devices. They collect masses of
data through all kinds of wearable
sensors. But how this data will be
used and by whom remains to be
6
seen. In the meantime the market
is fl ooded with devices that offer
niche functionalities to monitor
our bodies, companions and our
environment.
Promising better sleep
Feeling tired in the morning? One of the
gadgets presented at CES was a Smart
Sleep System. A typical combination
of new hardware, data collection and
a smart phone. A bedside device
records the sleep environment (noise
pollution, room temperature and light
level), and delivers light and sound
programmes that help stimulate better
sleep. A soft sensor that is placed
under the mattress monitors personal
sleep patterns, sleep cycles, body
movements, breathing and heart rate.
The two are complemented by a mobile
app that receives the collected data
and lets the user visualize his or her
sleep cycles to better understand when
and why they wake up.
Smart wristbands track activity, sleep and
food consumption to help their wearers make
healthier choices (Photo: Jawbone)
Taking care of Fido
Several connected devices presented
at CES were destined for dogs
and their owners. One of the more
interesting ones was a smart collar
stuffed with sensors that allows to
monitor a dog’s activity and rest
levels, calories, heart and respiratory
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
and reveals details about how much
impact it’s had on the skin throughout
the day.
Watching out for granny’s health
A multitude of health related hardware
and applications were presented at
CES. Again the aim for many of them is
to make things simpler for the patient
while providing added information and
relevant data to the practitioner. While
previously heart rate values or blood
pressure would be measured with
cumbersome devices during a whole
day or occasionally at the doctor’s
office, now real time information can
be collected and later shared, leading
to better diagnostics and treatment
results.
Voyce has developed a smart collar for dogs
(Photo: Voyce)
rate. That data is collected over
Wi-Fi. Information can be tracked
over time and can be shared with
the vet if needed. Increases in heart
rate for example can indicate if a
dog is in pain and provide an early
warning system when it is time to
go to the vet.
Beauty and the sun
Connected devices can be beautiful
and useful too. The proof: a UV
measuring bracelet presented at
CES that was designed by the
designer behind Louis Vuitton and
Harry Winston jewellery brands. It
monitors UV intensity and synced
to an iOS device alerts users on the
level of sunscreen to be applied and
when the skin has had too much
exposure to the sun. The bracelet
tracks daily habits and advises women
on how to better take care of their
skin. The app calculates maximum
sun exposure for a given skin type
Taking medication can be complex
and often important treatments are not
taken in a timely manner, jeopardizing
the final outcome. A connected
pill box launched at CES can help
elderly patients and their caregivers
to ensure that pills are taken on time.
The box can be filled by the pharmacy
or the care giver. Light as well as
sound alerts via SMS, email or voice
notifications inform the patient that it
is time to take their pills. The relevant
pill compartment lights up to inform
the patient that it is the next one to be
emptied. If programmed, the caregiver
can be informed if and when the
medication has been taken.
Don’t lose your head
A new sensor cap for people who
participate in impact sports may
provide early warning when an impact
to the head (with or without helmet)
of the wearer threatens his or her
health, getting them to the doctor
in time. The cap has a gyroscope,
accelerometers and a microprocessor
all hooked up to flexible printed
electronics. A warning light in the
back of the cap blinks when an impact
reaches a level that requires medical
attention.
And while all these devices are now
stand-alone, in the future their data and
functionalities may well merge when
and where useful. The only issues still
standing in the way are standardized
data sharing protocols and overcoming
potential privacy concerns, and as
one doctor put it: avoiding getting
swamped by the masses of data,
extracting only those that are useful
and comparable.
This sensor cap by Reebok alerts its wearer when an impact reaches a level requiring medical
attention (Photo: Reebok)
7
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
Advanced displays for better content
UHDTV displays becoming viable consumer option
Morand Fachot
New display technologies are
driving up the sales of equipment
worldwide. The rollout of 4K
or UHDTV (ultra high defi nition
TV), which offers four times
the resolution of current 1080p
HD, is forecast to bring about a
spectacular growth in the sale of
sets. Mobile devices also benefi t
from developments in display
technologies, including fl exible
screen displays. A number of
IEC TCs (Technical Committees)
prepare International Standards
that make these advances
possible.
The display world is fl at
Flat panel displays ousted CRT
(cathode ray tube) screens relatively
rapidly in IT equipment; by contrast
they took a comparatively long time to
replace them in the TV environment.
CRT-based TV sets still made up 99%
of the market in 2002, before their
share dropped dramatically to less than
10% in 2011.
In recent years new display
technologies and the availability of
the right content have been the main
drivers behind the introduction of
new products in the consumer and
professional markets.
Major equipment trade fairs, like the
recent International CES (Consumer
Electronics Show) that takes place
every year in Las Vegas, USA, offer a
good indication of technologies and
products that are set to come onto the
market in the near future.
One of these which attracted particular
attention at CES was UHDTV. In the
last couple of years UHDTV sets have
8
OLED displays offer better pictures than LED screens (Photo: Sony Corp.)
been present in shows around the
world, but sold in small volumes owing
to their extremely high prices. They
are now becoming a viable consumer
option as prices are dropping sharply
and production levels are ramping up
rapidly.
bought equipment before sets with
full HD capabilities described as
1080p (1080 horizontal lines of vertical
resolution) were introduced. The
availability of HD content was also a
decisive factor in the adoption of the
new technology.
Only 63 000 UHDTV sets were sold in
2012; 1,9 million units were shipped in
2013 and sales are expected to exceed
12,5 million units in 2014, according
to a December 2013 industry survey.
One key factor in this dramatic growth
is falling prices; these are expected to
drop to under USD 1 000 in China and
USD 2 000 in the US.
The same issues are emerging with
UHDTV but content producers and
broadcasters are striving to offer more
UHDTV programmes in the coming
years. One transitional measure is the
upscaling of HD content into UHDTV –
a technology similar to that used in Bluray players which can convert standard
defi nition DVDs into 1080p resolution.
Content will be key
The adoption rate of new TV technology
is highly dependent on standards for
content. This was the case when HDTV
was first introduced; consumers were
faced with confusing signals as some
sets labelled HD Ready were capable
of receiving HD signals, but didn’t have
enough resolution to truly display HD
content and had to downscale it to a
lower resolution. This led to frustration
on the part of many consumers who
Standards matter
One significant issue with the delivery
of UHDTV content is the large
bandwidth it requires. This would place
significant strain on existing terrestrial
or satellite distribution channels using
current compression standards.
However, solutions are available
now with the recent release of the
latest video coding standard, known
as HEVC (High Efficiency Video
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
contents, part of IEC TC (Technical
Committee) 100: Audio, video and
multimedia systems and equipment,
includes HDMI in its specifications
for DTT (Digital Terrestrial TV) and
satellite and terrestrial receivers for
ISDB (Integrated Services Digital
Broadcasting).
Flexible displays will find use in mobile devices (Photo: LG)
Coding), which has been developed
jointly by ISO/IEC MPEG (Moving
Picture Experts Group) and ITU-T
(International Telecommunication Union
Telecommunication Standardization
Sector). HEVC needs only half the
bit rate of its AVC (Advanced Video
Coding) predecessor to deliver the
same content. AVC currently accounts
for over 80% of all web video (see
article on HEVC in this issue).
HEVC will allow the streaming and
downloading of content using less
bandwidth on all equipment from mobile
devices to UHDTV sets, thus relieving
pressure on global networks. UHDTV will
also require more advanced connections,
such as the HDMI (High-Defi nition
Multimedia Interface) 2.0 specification.
TA (Technical Area) 1: Terminals for
audio, video and data services and
Advanced displays
OLED (organic light-emitting diode)
passive-matrix displays represent
the fastest growing display market
segment as they offer superior
brightness and contrast and display
pictures that appear crisper, more
colourful and more vibrant than was
possible before. OLED displays can
operate at low voltages, often in the
5 to 20 V range. TV sets using OLED
displays are being introduced on a
wide scale by all major manufacturers.
The range also includes the latest
slightly curved screens currently being
introduced.
AMOLED (active-matrix organic lightemitting diode) technology offers
even better capabilities and features,
better picture quality, response time
and contrast. In addition, it offers
lower power consumption, resulting
in longer battery life, making it ideal
for smartphones and other mobile
devices.
IEC TC 110: Electronic display
devices, prepares the IEC 62341
series of International Standards
for OLED displays. It has also
published IEC 62715-1-1, its first
International Standard on flexible
display devices.
Standardization work from a number
of IEC TCs in the display and related
domains cannot be underestimated as
it underpins the entire global fl at panel
display industry, which is expected
to reach USD 110 billion by 2017,
according to a recent report.
Foldable phone concept using advanced screen technology
9
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
Back with a vengeance!
High-performance audio is making a remarkable comeback
Car audio systems are another
manifestation of the trend. They may
now be connected to digital or satellite
radio in some regions, and are equipped
with CD or digital audio players.
High-performance audio equipment requires good connections (Photo: Yamaha)
Morand Fachot
In spite of the widely held view that
high-performance audio was losing
the prominent position it had in
the entertainment sphere a few
decades ago, it has been making a
signifi cant comeback in a different
guise with connected and wireless
devices. Many aspects of IEC
standardization work underpin the
current renewal of this signifi cant
segment of the consumer
electronics industry.
High-quality audio everywhere is
nothing new
Not so many years ago high-fidelity,
or hi-fi, stereo sound systems, which
first started appearing in homes in
large numbers in the early 1970s,
were considered the ultimate in home
entertainment. They provided the
best possible sound from sources as
diverse as FM radio, LP (long play)
vinyl records and tape or cassette
recorders connected to amplifi ers and
other sound processing devices, and
occupied pride of place in living rooms.
The introduction of better picture
and HD (high-definition) TV caused
consumers to increase their levels of
TV viewing since it provided access
to a greater choice of channels and
10 e-tech I January/February 2014
improved video experience. As a
result, high-quality audio seemed to
lose its aura in the home environment.
This impression was confirmed by a
diminishing selection of audio systems
and the commensurately increasing
range and availability of video
equipment in specialized stores.
Audio on the move gained users with
the widespread introduction of car
audio systems, initially with AM then
FM radio and later the addition of car
tape and cassette players. Individual
music listening on the move also
gained momentum with the arrival of
portable audio cassette players.
Back from the brink?
Contrary to the impression that might
have been given by the disappearance
of mass-market stores devoted to
hi-fi gear, and diminishing dedicated
shelf space in shops, high-quality
audio never really disappeared – it
just made a gradual comeback in
a different guise. So-called home
theatre systems and other equipment
such as sound bars connected to TVs,
and more recently to digital or Wi-Fi
radio, the internet or home computers,
have replaced old-fashioned stereo
systems. They now form the backbone
of high-performance audio.
Portable audio systems have also
gained in terms of listening quality and
ease of use. Personal mobile digital
music players and mobile phones
are now in widespread use, replacing
portable cassette players.
The recently held Las Vegas CES
(Consumer Electronics Show) offers
evidence that high-performance audio
is a vibrant sector, even if it didn’t make
the same striking headlines as ultra
HD TV, connected appliances or 3D
printing. No less than 565 out of over
3 530 CES 2014 exhibitors classifi ed
themselves as “high-performance
audio companies”.
New possibilities, such as live
streaming of concerts or music, open
up further opportunities for the sector.
This renewal even concerns, on a more
modest scale, what many thought was
a disappearing and “old” analogue
technology: LPs, which have found a
second life of a sort with global sales
growing nearly fi ve-fold between 2006
and 2012, exceeding the volume sold
in 1997.
SRS-X9 high-resolution wireless speaker
system (Photo: Sony Corp.)
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
segments, all of which are connected
with high-performance audio.
Wireless headphones accounted for the
largest market revenue at USD 1,25
billion in 2012, and the wireless sound
bar market is expected to show the
highest CAGR from 2013 to 2018.
High-definition headphones (Photo: Philips)
Cutting the cord
One of the well-established issues in
quality audio systems was – and still
is – connectivity of certain cables.
Reconnecting all the cables of the
numerous components of stereo
systems after a move used to represent
a challenge. However that is receding,
with the gradual adoption of wireless
connectivity for high-performance
audio.
The wireless audio device sector is a
fast-growing market with one recent
report expecting it to achieve a 24%
CAGR (compound annual growth
rate) over the 2013-2018 period to
reach USD 13,75 billion. Although this
report covers all sectors, including
defence and automotive, it gives
useful indications regarding the most
significant and the fastest growing
Wireless audio technology represents a
revolution in audio experience as it allows
users to enjoy high-quality audio from
a variety of sources – including small
portable devices – and locations, even
on the move, without the inconvenience
of being tied to cables or confined to a
fixed location. Industry experts consider
that wireless technology in audio devices
will contribute significantly to the growing
audio industry.
IEC standardization support for
high-quality audio
IEC standardization work for audio
equipment predates the 1995
creation of TC 100: Audio, video and
multimedia systems and equipment.
TC 100 was formed from the merger
of several existing TCs and SCs
(Subcommittees).
Its contribution to audio standardization
includes the IEC 60268 series on
sound system equipment. This
covers many audio components and
applications, including amplifi ers,
loudspeakers, headphones and
earphones, automatic gain control
devices and the application of
connectors for the interconnection of
sound system components and for
broadcast and similar uses.
Countless other IEC Standards cover
various characteristics of audio
equipment.
IEC standardization concerns a wide
variety of aspects that make highperformance audio and its plentiful
availability possible with Standards that
focus not only on equipment but also
on the software that is required. These
Standards include advanced digital
compression coding/decoding standards
for audio and video content (see article
in this e-tech on the latest digital audio
/ video compression coding) and
International Standards on DLNA (Digital
Living Network Alliance) guidelines that
allow the design of interoperable devices
in the home environment (see article on
the latest Standard on DNLA Guidelines
in this e-tech).
What was foreseen by many as the
impending demise of high-quality audio
a few years ago appears now as a
mere blip that heralded a remarkable
renewal of this important segment
of the entertainment industry. IEC
International Standards will make a
major contribution to this expansion.
Tiny MEMS
Huge impact on our digital future
Gabriela Ehrlich
MEMS, tiny electromechanical
systems, are now an indispensable
component of any piece of
electronic equipment, from smart
phones, to tablets, to wearable
devices, cars, aeronautics and
much more (see also article on
CES trends in this e-tech). Often
MEMS outperform their macro scale
counterparts achieving feats much
larger than their size. IEC work both
in standardization and conformity
assessment plays an important
role in the further expansion of this
technology.
What are MEMS
MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical
Systems) are miniaturized mechanical or
electromechanical elements that vary in
size from 1 to 100 microns, approximately
the thickness of a human hair. They
were invented in the 1980s and are now
present in most modern electronics.
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TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
the example of a pressure sensor
made to the most precise macro
scale level machining technique that is
outperformed by a micro scale pressure
transducer.
MEMS are tiny electromechanical systems
that vary in size from 1 to 100 microns
MEMS all look different and can be
anything from relatively simple devices
without moving elements to extremely
complex electromechanical systems
with multiple moving elements under the
control of integrated microelectronics.
The micro sensors and actuators in
MEMS are also called “transducers”
as they convert energy from one
form to another. In the case of micro
sensors, the device typically converts
a measured mechanical signal into an
electrical signal.
High performance, small in size,
cheap to produce
While the performance and size of
MEMS are important arguments
for the electronics industry, their
production cost has been steadily
decreasing. Today an average unit
costs around USD 0,60, down from
USD 7 in 2006.
All kinds of electronics
For all of the above mentioned reasons,
MEMS are now found in an increasing
number of devices, many of which are
used every day by millions of people.
But MEMS have also found their way
into industrial applications such as for
example micro valves to control gas
and liquid flows; optical switches and
mirrors to redirect or modulate light
beams; independently controlled micro
mirror arrays for displays; micro pumps
to increase the pressure of fluids; micro
fl aps to module airstreams on air foils,
and many others.
Often these tiny devices can perform
mechanical feats far larger than
their size would imply. For example,
researchers have placed small micro
actuators on the far edge of air foils of
an aircraft and have been able to steer
the aircraft using only these micro
miniaturized devices.
A fast growing market
With the proliferation of smart
consumer devices and especially
smart phones, the MEMS market
is increasing by double digit CAGR
(compound annual growth rate) and it
To make MEMS, generally thin layers
of material are deposited onto a
base and then selectively etched
away, leaving a microscopic threedimensional structure. The electrical
elements process data while the
mechanical elements act in response
to that data. An integrated circuitry
provides the thinking part of the
system while the MEMS components
complement the system with active
perception and control functions.
Micro outperforms macro
Today MEMS are used for a large
numberof sensing modalities,
including temperature, pressure,
inertia, chemical, magnetic fields,
radiation, etc. Remarkably, it seems that
many of these micro machined sensors
have demonstrated performances
that sometimes exceed those of their
macro scale counterparts. Memsnet.org,
the information site for the MEMS and
Nanotechnology industry puts forward
MEMS sensors, embedded in a variety of objects, can send their readings over the internet to
a user’s smartphone (Photo: Bosch)
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
More on MEMS
Processing motion
MEMS motion sensors detect the
orientation of any device, where it
is heading and its absolute location
in three-dimensional space. By
fusing the data streams from
different MEMS (accelerometers,
altimeters, inclinometers, etc.) they
are for example used to control
the hardware of game consoles or
inform software such as security
protocols or location-based
services.
More storage and better sound
MEMS are revolutionizing mass data
storage in the computer industry by
miniaturizing components for disk
drives, servers and peripherals.
Sharper images in millions of
shades
The MEMS micro mirror chip
(DMD) is frequently used in
consumer electronics and
particularly in video projectors
and televisions. This chip uses
microscopic moving mirrors to
improve the image quality and
reliability of these products. The
mirrors are mounted on tiny hinges
that allow them to tilt either towards
the light source to reflect the light or
away from it to block the light. The
length of time the mirror faces the
light determines the brightness of
each dot. They are able to produce
over 16 million shades of colour and
an image quality that enables them
now to replace film projectors in
movie theatres.
Increasing safety
In the automotive industry MEMS
accelerometers are a key element of
modern airbag systems. These MEMS
contain a central mass that moves in
response to the vehicle’s acceleration.
The mass is mounted on a hinge
that allows it to move during driving,
returning it to its original position when
the car stops. Sensitive electronic
circuitry read the mass’s movement
and relates its data to a connected
micro-processor. When the mass’s
movement changes at an unsafe
speed, the airbags are deployed
protecting passengers from impact.
is estimated to reach USD 19.5 billion
by 2016 from next to nothing in 2000,
when MEMS had just begun being
used in the PlayStation game console.
This market acceleration in turn drives
prices further down. The fastest
developing MEMS categories include
pressure sensors and gyroscopes.
The MEMS phone
At CES a group of industry experts
discussed the advancement of
Acoustic MEMS chips are changing
the way sound reaches the human
ear. They provide less distortion and
higher clarity and quality of sound.
For this reason they are built into
cell phones, music devices but also
hearing aids.
Opening the way for new
applications
In medical applications, in addition
to improving speed and reliability,
the MEMS market in consumer
electronics. They agreed that
smart phones, while already highly
dependent on MEMS will be adding
a multitude of additional functions
in the future with the help of further
MEMS. They already incorporate
accelerometers, altimeters,
magnetometers (compasses),
inclinometers, gyroscopes,
and pressure sensors, which in
combination with apps and/or
MEMS open the way for novel
innovations: MEMS chips inserted
under the skin of patients are able
to release an exact amount of
drug over time; built into a scalpel
they measure the length and
depth of incisions during delicate
operations. Environmental sensors
(for temperature, humidity and air
quality), medical sensors (such
as in blood-pressure monitors,
glucose meters, weight scales and
pulse oximeters) and wearable
sensors that can invoke a personal
emergency response system, all use
MEMS often connected wirelessly to
the Internet.
Sensing danger
MEMS low-power nano sensors are
also used to detect gas leaks or
saturation levels. They are so small
that they can be sewn into clothing
to be worn by soldiers in the fi eld or
by the elderly at home. Increasingly
these MEMS sensors are placed
along pipelines, around factory
perimeters and in workspaces where
they help increase safety and enable
early warning systems.
This text includes extracts of
technical explanations courtesy of
www.memsnet.org
hardware drive a multitude of health
and well-being functionalities.
In the future altimeters, pressure
and humidity sensors will allow
the development of fully localized
and tailored weather forecasts or
personalized GPS. Smartphones
will soon know not only where we
are horizontally at street-level but
also what floor of a building we
are on.
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TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
experts at CES all agreed that going
forward standardized parameters
for MEMS are needed. Additionally,
if algorithms are not optimized
for multiple sensors then it will be
difficult to achieve integrated data
collection. There is a clear need for
harmonization to further promote the
growth of this industry.
Some MEMS sensors, such as this one by
Bosch, combine pressure, humidity and
temperature measurement (Photo: Bosch)
Biochemical or radiation sensors will
allow people to test food, water and
their environment on the go. A gas or
biosensor may be able identify alcohol
levels or even certain lung diseases
by identifying the breath of the person
who speaks into the phone. A UV
sensor may provide alerts when sun
screen needs to be reapplied.
Challenges
MEMS come in many different shapes
and specifications, which makes
comparison increasingly difficult. The
IEC work for MEMS
IEC TC (Technical Committee) 47:
Semiconductor devices and
SC (Subcommittee) 47F: Microelectromechanical systems prepare a
multitude of International Standards
that enable manufacturers to build
better, more resistant, efficient
and reliable sensors and MEMS.
They cover terms and mechanical
properties, basic characteristics,
essential and optimal operating
ratings, as well as a multitude of
testing methods for materials such
as bonding strengths in composites,
resistance to stress, bending or
thermal expansion. Together they
facilitate the design, manufacture
and use and reuse of micro
electromechanical systems.
IECQ (IEC Quality Assessment System
for Electronic Components) allows
electronic component manufacturers
to test and measure the safety,
reliability of MEMS and ensure that
they meet set requirements.
Huge and growing market
The market for MEMS will grow from
about USD 12 billion in 2012 to over
USD 22 billion by 2018, according
to market analysis published at the
12 th annual meeting of the MIG
(MEMS Industry Group), held in
November 2013.
Laurent Robin, activity leader
for Inertial MEMS Devices and
Technologies at Yole Development
in France, told the meeting that the
MEMS sector could grow at a 13%
CAGR (compound annual growth rate)
for the next five years. He claimed
that MEMS for mobile devices was
the driver for future growth, noting
that smartphones have as many as
12 MEMS chips today, growing to
as many as 20 in the near future,
including 9-axis sensors. IEC SC 47F
standardization work will be central to
that expansion.
How sensors change the sharing of information
But the predictable pathways of how
information is gathered, stored and
shared are changing. The physical world
itself is becoming an information system.
Gabriela Ehrlich
At CES (Consumer Electronics
Show) a group of experts met and
shared some of the opportunities
and hurdles facing the Internet
of Things in the consumer space.
This is a short summary of their
discussion.
Information pathways are changing
Until recently information was harvested
from public sources, the Internet or
purchased from information suppliers.
In what is called the Internet of Things,
sensors and actuators embedded in
physical objects from streets to blood
pressure monitors are linked through
wireless networks. These networks
produce huge amounts of data.
Physical objects, such as this glucose
monitoring device, make use of sensors
and actuators to link with each other through
wireless networks (Photo: iHealth)
Connected devices that are able to
sense their environment and share
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
profile of a passer-by (i.e. young male
or mature woman) and instantly deliver
messages or special offers they are
likely to be receptive to.
At CES a group of experts sat together
to analyze the future development
in this space and the hurdles and
challenges that need to be overcome.
New services and devices will need to be
highly intuitive and consumer friendly
that information whenever needed or
useful become tools that constantly
provide feedback enabling instant
and on-going adjustments. Many of
these systems work and communicate
without the intervention of any human
being.
Industrial…
With it manufacturing processes
can be precisely and fully controlled,
removing hazards that can cause
damage or delays, optimizing the use
of infrastructure and reducing overall
cost. Farmers are able to monitor
the development of their cultures
at a distance and programme fully
automated watering or fertilizing
cycles.
…and consumer applications
But increasingly the Internet of Things
permeates also our everyday lives
through connected and smart devices.
Here too, the aim is to increase
efficiency, reduce cost but also to
improve our health and well-being.
Already, pill-shaped microcameras
travel through the human digestive
system and send back images that
provide better disease diagnostics,
or help us optimize our workout to
avoid injuries. Today nearly anything
can be analyzed and used to develop
and deliver services or products. In
Japan, interactive screens capture the
Cloud or not?
One of the first topics of discussion
focused on the notion of cloudbased data information and sharing.
Experts agreed that use cases must
drive solutions; all agreed that the
notion that everything has to be in
the cloud makes no sense. The need
not the tool should drive decision.
In reality the consumer doesn’t care
where information is processed, they
want functionality that meets their
expectations. Also, most consumers
don’t want another service provider
in their life, they don’t want to spend
money on another subscription fee.
Theirs are value decisions and they will
drive convergence of services wherever
it will make sense.
Add value or die
Today most services are delivered in
silos through proprietary gateways.
There is currently no technology
available that is able to aggregate
services from different suppliers to
deliver them in a way that optimally
satisfies consumer needs. All experts
believed that in the next 4 to 5 years
there will be increasing convergence
of such services via common
gateways or the cloud. Functionality
together with design will drive
consumer decisions and if a service or
device doesn’t add value, consumers
will simply not go for it.
User friendliness above all
The experts also felt strongly that the
usual IT paradigm will not work in this
space. Any services and devices will
need to be highly consumer friendly...
suppliers will need to figure out ways to
keep things very simple and leave the
complexity in the cloud.
Privacy, security and trust
The experts felt that the biggest
problem facing the Internet of Things
in the consumer space will not be
the communication between devices
or the collection and ability to share
data but rather obtaining permission
to access and use that data. The end
game will be getting all this data from
the consumers by earning their trust
and providing sufficient incentive for
them to allow a company to develop
value-add services based on that data.
To illustrate this one expert mentioned
a study that was undertaken by a
University to verify water consumption
in a community. The study found that
simple changes in water pressure
allowed to predict daily routines and
conclude on how and when water
was used (i.e. baths vs showers), also
providing feedback on the potential
number of occupants in a given
household. The local water utility heard
about the study and asked to get
access to that data, because it could
have been very useful in predicting
water consumption patterns in that
community. The dilemma: who owns
the data? Is the University that ran the
study allowed to share private data of
the tenants that were monitored? All
of this is not technology driven, it is
permission driven.
At the end of the day consumers will
need to feel that they get a real benefi t
when they share their data. There is a
future for so-called data anonymization
companies that will agglomerate similar
data removing individual user profiles.
The emergence of standards
The IEC through ISO/IEC JTC (Joint
Technical Committee) 1: Information
Technology, has created two
SWGs (Special Working Groups)
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TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
many appliances are already smart and
connected and that such connectivity
is only getting cheaper.
In reality the innovation cycle is never
finished. Manufacturers will always
need to try to open new revenue
streams through innovative data
analysis. Consumers will increasingly
contribute to the creation of services
and devices by providing feedback on
the next functionally they want.
One of the biggest challenges facing the
Internet of Things is obtaining permission to
access and use data
on the Management and Internet of
Things. The aim is to identify market
requirements and standardization gaps.
However, even though not everything
is yet standardized in this space,
the experts at CES felt that even if a
manufacturer bet on the wrong horse,
since often solutions and analytics
stay the same, they can switch at a
later point. They also mentioned that
The total benefit will only be achieved
once everything is connected and that
takes stamina and long-term investment.
Only those will survive who best translate
consumer needs and wants.
Standards developers will need to be
responsive to the market and they also
need to develop solutions that will be
stable in the long run.
Protecting against cyberthreats
As regards privacy and security,
one expert, Marc Rogers, principal
research analyst at mobile security
firm Lookout, said that dealing with
these “aspects of the Internet of
Things is going to be one of the
biggest challenges we have faced
in security for a long time.”
The security risks were highlighted
when it was revealed that more
than 750 000 malicious emails had
been sent from over 100 000 smart
devices, including a refrigerator,
over the holiday period, according to
Proofpoint Security, a Silicon Valleybased cybersecurity company.
IDC, a research firm, predicts that more
than 200 billion items will be connected
to the Internet by 2020. With so many
connected devices the potential for
cyber-attacks is huge.
Companies that produce smart devices
will have to ensure these provide
a good degree of protection from
cybercrime for consumers. The latter
will also need to take security seriously,
as computer users should do.
Standards in the Cloud
Interview with Don Deutsch, Chairman of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 38,
Distributed Application Platforms and Services
Don Deutsch, chairman of
ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 38, Distributed
Application Platforms and
Services, shares his thoughts
on the importance of standards
for the paradigm-shifting fi eld
of cloud computing within the
information technology sector and
the role of SC (Subcommittee) 38.
Also discussed are ISO/IEC JTC
(Joint Technical Committee) 1:
Information technology, various
consortia in the development
of cloud computing standards,
and what may be expected for
the future of cloud computing
standardization.
Standards for clarity and
interoperability
e-tech: Why are standards important
for cloud computing?
Standards are important in the IT
(Information Technology) sector
because they enable products to
interoperate. That is to say, information
technology products from multiple
vendors can work together when they
incorporate standard interfaces. IT
Don Deutsch, Chairman of
ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 38: Information technology/
Distributed application platforms and services
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
services marketplace, there are strong
demands for near-term cloud computing
standards, especially from governments.
The information technology industry
has undergone significant changes
throughout its history, such as
the transition from the mainframe
(centralized computing) era to the
distributed computing era and personal
computing. With cloud computing, we
may be experiencing another important
transition; the standards developed by
SC 38 promise to be an essential part
of getting that transition right.
In today’s interconnected world, standards are absolutely essential
products rarely operate in isolation or
solely with other products from the
same vendor. Consequently, in today’s
interconnected world, standards are
absolutely essential.
As an emerging vehicle for providing
information technology services, cloud
computing can benefit from standards.
When people talk about cloud
computing they mean various things.
To provide clarity and a basis for
developing future cloud computing
standards, SC 38 is developing a
definition of cloud computing.
Currently under development by
SC 38, ISO/IEC 17788, Cloud
Computing - Overview and Vocabulary,
includes a concise definition of cloud
computing. Since the standards
process is a process of gaining
consensus among various different
constituencies, this is a consensus
definition. According to this document
that is being proposed as an
International Standard cloud computing
is described as: “a paradigm for
enabling network access to a scalable
and elastic pool of shareable, physical
or virtual resources with self-service
provisioning and administration ondemand”.
At the bare minimum, cloud computing
is a form of information technology
involving the use of resources that are
not owned, controlled or maintained
by a single user. Rather, the resources
are accessed over a network and are
shared among a community of users.
With cloud computing those resources
can be dynamically provisioned – if
users need more computing power,
more storage or more processing
capabilities, then these resources can
be provided. Cloud computing services
may be provided by more than a single
computer or even a single computing
centre; users may actually be sharing
resources across various facilities that
may not even be co-located.
Standards to guide the Cloud
transition
It is important to note the word
“paradigm” in the definition of cloud
computing outlined in the ISO/IEC 17788
draft standard. Cloud computing is a
shift in the paradigm for providing IT
capabilities to users, and a great deal
of future IT activity is likely to take place
within the context of cloud computing.
Because cloud computing has the
potential to disrupt the IT products and
e-tech: What is ISO/IEC JTC1’s role in
cloud computing standards? What part
is SC 38 playing?
ISO/IEC JTC 1 recognized the emerging
field of cloud computing (and the desire
to develop cloud computing standards)
when in 2009 it established SC 38:
Distributed Application Platforms and
Services. At the time, there were three
different converging demands that were
brought to the JTC 1 plenary. After
six years of studying standardization
requirements for web services – a
technology for providing capabilities
across the network through the World
Wide Web – JTC 1 was considering
whether to begin developing web
services standards. At the same time,
China proposed that JTC 1 work in
the area of SOA (Service Oriented
Architecture), another underlying
technology closely related to web
services. The third converging initiative
came from Korea, with a proposal that
JTC 1 look into the new area of cloud
computing. Recognizing the strong
relationships among these technologies,
JTC 1 established SC 38 with the title of
DAPS (Distributed Application Platforms
and Services) so as to address these
three areas: web services, service
oriented architecture, and cloud
computing.
Ongoing focus on cloud
standardization
As the work of SC 38 has evolved over
the last four years, I have found that
17
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
the overwhelming focus of SC 38 today
is on cloud computing. The work on
web services is nearly finished and
there is no new development of web
services standards. The work on SOA
in SC 38 is still ongoing, but winding
down. However, there is a tremendous
amount of interest and effort in the area
of cloud computing.
To date, SC 38 has focused on preparing
two important documents for cloud
computing in collaboration with ITU-T
Sector): ISO/IEC 17788, Cloud
Computing - Overview and Vocabulary
and ISO/IEC 17789, Cloud Computing
- Reference Architecture. In addition
to preparing these documents, SC 38
has initiated work on the definition of a
standard SLA (Service-Level Agreement)
for cloud computing.
Adapting to meet changing needs
Recognizing the heavy shift in focus
of SC 38 towards cloud computing,
at the SC 38 Plenary in Kobe, Japan,
in September 2013, I initiated a
study group on future work in the
area of cloud computing and related
technologies. My anticipation is that
the work of this study group will result
in new projects being proposed, and
that there may be new structures within
SC 38 to develop these projects. The
current working groups – one each
for web services, SOA, and cloud
computing – do not properly refl ect
the interest and level of effort that we
have in the cloud computing area; new
structures might better deploy our
resources to carry out what is likely to
be a more robust programme of work
in the area of cloud computing.
e-tech: What is ahead for SC 38 in the
next couple of years?
The first step in the standardization
process is for the provider community
and standards-setting organizations
to come to a consensus as to which
standards are required, beyond
those standards that already exist
or are currently being developed.
Because cloud computing is still in
the rapid innovation stage, this idea of
consensus on required standards is
extremely important to its success.
Future cloud standardization
Heading up the study group on future
work in cloud computing mentioned
above is someone from NIST (National
Institute of Standards and Technology),
the US federal technology agency.
NIST is one of the big demand-pull
organizations and represents a major
market for most of the US providers; in
addition, NIST is looked to in much of
the rest of the world as a trusted player
in defining requirements for users,
especially for governments – many of
which are represented by major players
in JTC 1.
This study group should help SC 38
decide where to go beyond vocabulary
and reference architectures. Over the
next couple of years SC 38 will determine
which standards are required for cloud
computing and will play a significant role
in providing those standards.
I do not expect SC 38 to define all of
the standards that are required for
cloud computing, but it should be in a
position where it is able to recognize
what standards are required. It can then
become a consolidator of the standards
that are produced from a wide and
diverse community of standards-setting
organizations and can develop the
additional required standards not being
developed elsewhere.
Coordination and leadership
SC 38 is uniquely positioned to serve
as a consolidator of cloud computing
standards because of the JTC 1
PAS (Publicly Available Specification)
process. This allows specifications
developed through consensus
processes outside the formal structure
to be transposed into JTC 1 and
recognized as International Standards.
To date, most of the international
technical standards in the area of
cloud computing have come as PAS
submissions from consortia addressing
the lower levels of the cloud computing
technology stack; that is, those focusing
on standards for infrastructure as a
service.
Foundation standards
The standards that have been worked
on directly by SC 38 are the vocabulary
and reference architecture standards,
ISO/IEC 17788 and ISO/IEC 17789.
Over the next year, I expect SC 38 to
complete these foundation standards
and to identify the requirements for
additional cloud computing standards.
Only then can SC 38 embark on
developing these standards and/
or fulfilling the need with standards
brought in from elsewhere.
e-tech: Many standards organizations
are developing cloud computing
standards. Are they competing with
SC 38?
I do think that we are in a new era,
in that technology convergence is
real. The mechanisms that we set
up for international standards 50 or
more years ago divided technological
standardization into three fields,
with ITU covering telephones and
telecommunications, IEC taking on
power generation and power distribution
and ISO attending to areas not covered
by the other two. When the need for IT
standards was first recognized, ISO and
IEC both claimed to have a stake in the
sector. In order to avoid competition
in this field, both organizations agreed
to set up their first joint technical
committee, known as JTC 1.
JTC 1’s global role
JTC 1 is the recognized source
for global information technology
standards. Its voluntary, nonregulatory, nature has allowed the IT
industry to thrive over the years. The
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
I became involved in developing
standards in the area of database
management, specifically in languages
for accessing, storing, retrieving, and
manipulating data. The result of those
efforts was the SQL standard, in which
I am still involved. I spent most of my
career working for companies that had
a stake in SQL.
JTC 1/SC 38 is developing a definition of cloud computing as a basis for future standardization
PAS process it adheres to enables
consortia working in the area of cloud
computing to have the results of their
work considered by JTC 1 for possible
acceptance as international standards.
As a result, consortia see SC 38 as a
vehicle for collaboration rather than as
competition.
and through the PAS process. In this
way, SC 38 is able to act more as
partner than competitor in developing
cloud computing standards. As a
result, SC 38 is now positioned as
the preferred vehicle for establishing
new international cloud computing
standards.
Consortia such as the Open Group,
DMTF (Distributed Management Task
Force), SNIA (Storage Networking
Industry Association) and OASIS
(Organization for the Advancement
of Structured Information Standards)
are engaged in SC 38, both directly
From SQL standard to cloud
standards
e-tech: Can you tell us about your
experience in developing standards,
and why you are interested in cloud
computing?
One could argue that the SQL standard
ranks among the most successful
standards of the past 30 years. Nearly
every product today that stores
and retrieves data provides an SQL
language interface. Even when new
database management approaches
emerge, they are characterized in the
context of the SQL standard – for
example, NoSQL databases.
The development of cloud computing
standards may have an equally
influential impact on the IT world. Cloud
computing represents a paradigm shift
and therefore could potentially cause
discontinuity in the market. It is so
important that it has the potential to
substantially impact virtually everything
that goes on in information technology.
It is an area that is highly significant
for my company, for the US, for JTC 1
and for the entire IT world – that’s why
I’m excited to be engaged in cloud
computing standardization in SC 38.
More content down the same pipe
Improving audio and video coding allows more and higher quality
multimedia content
Morand Fachot
Over the last two decades
digitization of multimedia product
content has offered global
access to a progressively wider
choice of services and better
audio and video. The most visible
aspect of advances in broadcast
technology is the availability of
new equipment, which relies on
standardization work from many
IEC TCs (Technical Committees).
Another less evident, but no less
signifi cant, component has been
the rollout of successive versions
of ever more effi cient digital
compression coding/decoding
standards.
More services, better quality
As many countries started opening
up their broadcast landscape in the
1980s with the launch of commercial
broadcasting, they gradually came up
against the prospect of a spectrum
bottleneck. This is because analogue
signals use up a large amount of
bandwidth. To overcome analogue
19
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
broadcasting limitations in terms of
services and quality, compression
standards that could be used in digital
broadcasting and other applications
were developed.
MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group),
a working group of experts, was formed
by the IEC and ISO (International
Organization for Standardization)
in 1988 to prepare these types
of Standards jointly with ITU-T
Sector) Study Group 16, Multimedia,
also known as VCEG (Video Coding
Experts Group).
ISO/IEC 11172-1, the first of the
Group’s five-part series, also known
as MPEG-1, was published in 1993
by ISO/IEC JTC (Joint Technical
Committee) 1/SC (Subcommittee) 29:
Coding of audio, picture, multimedia
and hypermedia information.
MPEG-1 covers the coding of moving
pictures and associated audio for
digital storage media at up to
1,5 Mbit/s or so.
The first of the ten-part ISO/IEC 13818
series, or MPEG-2, also known as
ITU-T (Recommendation) H.262,
which provides additional features
such as support for interlaced video,
was published in 1996. It is the most
widely used format for digital television
signals broadcast over-the-air (DTT, or
digital terrestrial TV), cable and DTH
(direct to home) satellite transmission,
as well as for other applications such
as DVDs.
Digital compression offered a
significant advantage as demand
for more services increased rapidly.
For instance, a single 30-36 MHz
satellite transponder used for DTH
could carry just one analogue
channel, but up to 16 digital channels
encoded in MPEG-2, making
satellite broadcasting much more
cost effective and also resulting in
more efficient use of the terrestrial
frequency spectrum.
Improving effi ciency
ISO/IEC 14496, the series of Standards
known as MPEG-4, further improved
on MPEG-2, in particular as regards
digital video coding. MPEG-4 Part 10,
advanced video coding, or AVC,
also known as ITU-T H.264 or
MPEG-4/H.264 AVC, reportedly
provides the same quality as MPEG-2
with less than half the bitrate.
AVC is used in Blu-ray Disc and
stereoscopic 3D video content.
Another digital multimedia format,
MPEG-4 Part 14, better known as
MP4, is also widely used to store video,
audio and associated data, such as
subtitles. In addition it allows streaming
over the Internet.
The latest digital compression coding/
decoding standard of the same family,
ISO/IEC 23008-2, High efficiency
video coding (HEVC), or ITU-T H.265,
was published in December 2013. It
will allow the storage and distribution
of UHDTV (ultra high definition TV)
content. The term UHDTV covers
both so-called 4K (offering twice
the horizontal and vertical resolution
of the 1080p HDTV format and four
times as many pixels), which is
currently being rolled out, and future
8K (four times the horizontal and
vertical resolution of 1080p and
16 times as many pixels).
4K was the most popular innovation
trend presented at this year’s CES
(Consumer Electronics Show) in Las
Vegas, according to an analysis of the
Twittersphere, an indication of growing
interest from both industry
and consumers.
Viewers can access more higher-quality content thanks to digital compression
(Photo: Sony Corp.)
MPEG-2 still Standard of choice
MPEG-2 is still widely used, in
particular for SD (standard definition)
content. According to a study by the
satellite industry Market Research
and Consulting company NSR
(Northern Sky Research), 73% of
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
This SES-5 satellite under construction can beam hundreds of channels thanks to digital compression (Photo: SES – www.ses.com)
the 23 182 SD channels it attributed
to the global satellite market as of the
end of 2012 were still broadcast in
MPEG-2 or another similar format.
However, NSR notes that no less than
86% of the 3 836 HD/3D channels
carried globally at the end of 2012 were
broadcast using MPEG-4 encoding.
To a large extent this trend was
MP3 players like this Sansa Clip+ make for
better audio on the move experience
also observed for similar channels
broadcast via DTT or cable.
As is often the case, the first regions/
countries to adopt a technology
are likely to be the heaviest users
years after newer technologies are
introduced. Some 80% of SD channels
in North America and 90% in Western
Europe use MPEG-2 encoding
compared to regions like Sub-Saharan
Africa or South Asia where about half
of the current SD channels are being
carried in MPEG-4.
This tends to show that new
technologies do not always displace
older ones, but operate alongside
them whilst also opening up new
opportunities. MPEG-2 made possible
the introduction of more channels in
better definition compared to analogue
broadcasts; MPEG-4/AVC allowed
more HDTV channels and 3D content;
HEVC is now paving the way to UHDTV,
but MPEG-2 is still widely deployed.
International recognition
The economic impact of the digital
compression coding/decoding
Standards prepared jointly by
ISO/IEC MPEG and ITU-T SG 16
cannot be overemphasized. A highly
significant and growing share of the
global broadcast media industry
market, which is expected to reach
nearly USD 600 billion in 2017, relies
entirely on these Standards.
This contribution to the industry has
been recognized by the US National
Academy of Television Arts and
Sciences (NATAS) which gave MPEG
an engineering Emmy Award for its
work on “International Standardization
of JPEG, MPEG-1 and MPEG-2” in
1996, and two additional Emmys in
2008 and 2009 covering, respectively,
MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 coding
associated with video, CD and MP3,
digital TV, set top boxes and DVD,
and MPEG-4 AVC.
21
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
Food print
3D food printer aims to help promote home cooking
The Foodini 3D printer (Photo: Natural
Machines)
Claire Marchand
“Darling, what should I print for
dinner tonight?” Not cook, not
bake, but print. This question,
which, six months ago would
have seemed odd, may be one
frequently asked in households
later this year. The 3D printer –
where anything from a prosthetic
foot for a duck to a toy car or
a handgun can be created in a
matter of hours – is now set to
revolutionize the way food is
prepared.
Customizing your kitchen preps
Foodini, as it is called, is a 3D printer
that can produce a range of foodstuffs,
from chocolate cake, to cheeseburger,
ravioli or pizza and more, providing
the ingredients fed into the machine
are soft, moist and malleable. The
device can print food items in a variety
of shapes and also be used for the
finishing touch, such as decorating
plates, squirting on a pattern of icing
or applying a layer of melted cheese.
Food lovers can use their imagination
and creativity to come up with
customized, visually appealing dishes.
Like a regular printer
Foodini works as any other 3D
printer, squeezing liquid materials
onto a printing bed. It can hold fi ve
capsules, each potentially containing a
different ingredient, in much the same
way a normal printer has cartridges
containing different coloured ink. As
and when each ingredient is required,
the computer automatically switches
from one capsule to another and then
pumps their contents, at different rates
of pressure and temperature, through
the extruder. The machine has a heater
built in to keep the food warm during
the printing process.
The capsules can be home-filled but
for those who want to make it as easy
Four stages in the preparation of a pizza
(Photo: Natural Machines)
as possible, pre-filled, ready-to-use
capsules will also be available.
Promoting home cooking
Interestingly enough, the Foodini 3D
printer encourages something that
many of us gave up on years ago:
home cooking. Preparing a pizza
or a quiche from A to Z, instead of
takeaways or the frozen stuff bought
from supermarkets, can become a fun
thing to do.
A recipe for success?
Unveiled by Barcelona-based Natural
Machines last December, the Foodini
is expected to be on the market mid2014. The launch drew a lot of media
attention, but while journalists focused
extensively on the technical features
of the 3D printer, none commented on
how the Foodini preparations tasted.
The guess is their taste and flavour
will depend on the quality of the
ingredients used.
Several other companies are working
on 3D food printers. Will they become
a fi xture in our kitchens, the way
microwave ovens have? Only time – the
next 12 months or so – will tell…
Spinach dinosaurs being printed (Photo: Natural Machines)
INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT
Connecting homes, connecting things
Internet of Things to bring major changes in connected homes
Morand Fachot
Commercial and residential
buildings are widely expected to
become increasingly automated
and better connected, allowing
them to meet the need to cut
energy use as well as to provide
better security and improved
working and living conditions. This
trend presents many opportunities,
but also challenges, which
manufacturers and governments
are addressing. They are
supported in their efforts by
IEC standardization work.
Building automation essential
for the future
Although it is impossible to give a
uniform breakdown, owing to the
existence of wide-ranging economic,
climatic and other conditions,
commercial buildings are reported
to account for 20%-40% of primary
energy consumption in industrialized
countries.
•
ameliorating living conditions and
increasing comfort in terms of
ambience, through the means of
lighting, interconnection of existing
devices and connected appliances
IEC standardization work covers all
these areas.
IEC SC (Subcommittee) 61D: Appliances
for air-conditioning for household and
similar purposes, prepares International
Standards for electrical heat pumps, air
conditioners and dehumidifiers. For its
part, TC (Technical Committee) 47:
Semiconductor devices, prepares
International Standards for integrated
circuits and sensors, among a wide
range of other devices and systems.
Commercial sector leading
the automation drive
Automation is more advanced in
commercial than in residential buildings
as the former are usually refurbished
and modernised more regularly,
allowing for replacement or overhaul of
energy-hungry installations.
Technical challenges
Automation in residential housing is more
complex than in the commercial sector,
notably because significant technical
challenges have to be overcome to bring
older stock up to modern standards.
Automation in commercial
buildings includes the installation of
programmable thermostats, timers and
sensors that switch heating off or on,
ventilation, lights, escalators and other
equipment such as security systems as
required.
For owners and tenants, retrofit of
buildings, in particular through the
installation of automated systems, is
often not a priority. Retrofitting mainly
concerns critical systems and often
only occurs when forced to, when a
system such as a boiler breaks down
Residential buildings are similarly large
consumers of primary energy.
Automating buildings is seen as an
attractive solution to cutting energy use
in commercial and residential buildings
and as an essential step in the future
introduction of Smart Grids. In addition
to providing better energy efficiency
through automated control and the
regulation of utilities (electricity, gas or
water), automating buildings provides
solutions for:
• enhancing security through
presence simulation, alarm systems
(against intrusion, fire, smoke or
other hazards), remote information
and intervention
• improving health care with support
for the elderly through AAL (ambient
assisted living)
Control screen in security monitoring centre (Photo: Honeywell International Inc.)
23
INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT
and needs replacing. Furthermore,
there is always a cost/benefit analysis
between landlords and tenants that
rarely favours expensive retrofits,
automation in particular.
Automating new houses is easier and
less costly as the infrastructure needed
for automation (networking, cabling, etc.)
can be installed at relatively low cost as
soon as construction work starts.
Smart washing machines like this one are entering the home environment (Photo: Samsung)
Widening range
Home automation combines a widening
range of domains, applications and
products such as home energy
management and data networking, home
appliances, integrated home systems,
security systems and access control.
Connected home appliances, which are
coming onto the market, are also set to
play a growing role in home automation.
International home automation
systems and standards
Work done by ISO/IEC JTC
(Joint Technical Committee) 1
/SC (Subcommittee) 25/WG (Working
Group) 1: Interconnection of information
technology equipment - Home electronic
systems, paved the way towards energy
management systems with its home
automation/home networking standards.
These allow consumers to take control
of their energy use and programme their
devices to a much greater extent than
ever before.
This work was followed by initiatives in
several regions of the world.
In Europe, CENELEC, the European
Committee for Electrotechnical
Standardization, presented its
draft recommendations for its SHR
(SmartHouse Roadmap) Project in 2010.
The goal was to project a European
vision, approach and suggested way
forward for smart homes.In Asia, PASC
(Pacific Area Standards Congress)
included HEMS (home energy
management systems) at its 2012
meeting. The approaches to energyefficient homes in the region’s most
industrialized economies, Japan, China
and the Republic of Korea, present
certain similarities.
In Japan the Echonet (Energy
Conservation and Homecare NETwork)
consortium developed a standard of
the same name for communication
between appliances and networks to
control white goods via embedded
microprocessors through wireless or
wired connections.
China, through its IGRS (Intelligent
Grouping and Resource Sharing)
developed a similar solution. Control of
the appliances that meet this standard
relies mainly on wireless control. Both
Echonet and IGRS were accepted as
International Standards by IEC TC 100:
Audio, video and multimedia systems
and equipment.
Korea, through the Korea Home
Network Industries Association,
makes great efforts to realize smart
home applications able to control
power consumption of each appliance
remotely, either centrally or in a
distributed manner, according to the
architecture employed.
Security at the forefront
Besides energy management, which is
considered a leading incentive, provision
of security through the installation of
various alarm and surveillance systems
is another major factor in the drive
towards home automation.
IEC TC 79: Alarm and electronic
security systems, prepares
International Standards for systems for
“the protection of buildings, persons,
areas and properties against fraudulent
actions”. Its work does not cover
the production of standards for fire
detection and fire alarm systems in
general, but does include the following:
• Access control systems
• Video surveillance systems
• Social alarm systems
• Alarm transmission systems
• Combined and/or integrated
systems, even those that include
fire alarm systems
• Intruder and robbery alarm systems
• Remote receiving and/or
surveillance centres
Alarm systems have been used for
decades as deterrents against theft
and robbery and for fire detection
and evacuation warning purposes.
In more recent years, other domains
have seen a steady growth. They
include social alarm systems and
services, which allow, for instance,
elderly or disabled residents in
specially equipped accommodation
and dwellings to activate an alarm and
call for assistance in the event of an
emergency.
There are 36 TC 79 International
Standards for home alarm systems;
INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT
number of years, allowing users to
connect compatible devices to a home
network to access and share content
using, for instance DLNA (Digital Living
Network Alliance) standards (see article
in this e-tech on DLNA).
Tele-health will play an important role in
ambient assisted living (Photo: BT)
21 of these are recent, having
been published since 2010. TC 79
standardization work underpins a huge
global market, which is projected to
reach USD 62,5 billion by 2018.
Assisted living
Improving health care with support for
the elderly, disabled and others through
AAL (ambient assisted living) represents
another major reason to expand home
automation. AAL systems “encompass
products, services, environments and
facilities used to support those whose
independence, safety, wellbeing and
autonomy are compromised by their
physical or mental status”.
In 2011, IEC SMB (Standardization
Management Board) established
SG (Strategy Group) 5 “to manage
and coordinate AAL standardization
work in IEC TCs, to establish
and achieve interoperability and
interconnectivity of AAL systems,
and accessible design of their user
interface”.
Writing standards is not within the
scope of SG5, but more than a dozen
IEC TCs, including TC 79 mentioned
earlier, do standardization work that is
relevant to AAL.
Improving comfort and living
conditions
Home IT and multimedia systems
are increasingly interconnected. This
interconnection facilitates wider and
improved home automation. It has
been used for entertainment for a
Increased IT networking and
connectivity in homes allow the
automated or remote operation and
control of many functions such as
switching on or off heating, lights,
alarms and, increasingly, appliances.
Large connected appliances, such
as refrigerators, cookers, washing
machines or robotic vacuum cleaners
that can help with chores have been
demonstrated at various trade events in
recent years.
International Standards for household
appliances are prepared by TC 59:
Performance of household and similar
electrical appliances, and TC 61:
Safety of household and similar
electrical appliances, and their SCs.
Judging by the range of connected
products unveiled at the 2014 Las
Vegas CES (Consumer Electronics
Show), and the functions they now
offer, the signs are that these devices
will be entering the home environment
as major constituents of the future
Internet of Things. One issue that will
need addressing is the interoperability
of devices and appliances of different
makes. Another issue that emerged
was that of privacy and security.
The BBC reported an analyst at
a security firm telling 2014 CES
participants that “dealing with the
privacy and security aspects of the
Internet of Things is going to be one of
the biggest challenges we have faced
in security for a long time”.
This concern was vindicated when
researchers at Proofpoint Security,
a Silicon Valley-based cybersecurity
company, announced in mid-January
2014 that more than 750 000 malicious
emails had been sent from over
100 000 so-called smart devices,
including a “smart” fridge, over the
holiday period.
The IEC is involved with ISO
(International Organization for
Standardization) in standardization
work aimed at ensuring IT security
through ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27:
IT security techniques.
Huge market with a bright prospect
The overall size of the global connected
home market is difficult to assess with
any precision. However, some figures
indicate that it is huge and growing
very fast.
Information security issues
As connected appliances and devices
will communicate with each other
and with users via networks, often
wirelessly, they can be affected by
security issues and “hijacked” by illintentioned individuals or organizations.
In addition to the global market for
electronic security systems, projected
to reach USD 62,5 billion by 2018,
the market for home automation and
controls – lighting control, security
control, access control, HVAC (heating
ventilation air conditioning) control,
entertainment control, outdoor
control, communication protocols,
standards and data distribution – is
forecast to exceed USD 48 billion
by the same date. Pike Research, a
market intelligence company in clean
technology products and services,
estimates that the worldwide sales
of smart appliances will total nearly
USD 35 billion by 2020.
The problem is compounded by the
lack of awareness on the part of sellers
and installers of security risks inherent
to connected appliances.
This vast market and the entire
ecosystem on which connected homes
and appliances are based rely on IEC
standardization work.
25
Gearing up for standardization
IEC TC 119 Working Groups dealing with standardization on printed electronics
Dr Alan Hodgson, Chair IEC TC 119
Printed electronics is set to
revolutionize the electronics
industry and many other domains.
It will prove a disruptive, yet
creative process that will allow
the production of new low-cost
electronic devices. Equipment,
substrates and printing processes
are already widely available.
IEC TC 119 was set up in 2011 to
prepare International Standards
in the fi eld of printed electronics.
Its Chairman, Dr Alan Hodgson,
provides an update on the set up of
the TC structure.
Working groups set up and active
“The work of IEC TC 119 is
progressing well and the Committee
is starting to establish some formal
structure,” says Dr Alan Hodgson,
Chair for IEC TC 119: Printed
Electronics. TC 119, dealing with
Flexible organic photovoltaic cell (Photo:Fraunhofer ISE)
standardization of terminology,
materials, processes, equipment,
products and health/safety/
environment in the field of printed
electronics, now has four working
groups with three other groups that
could yet achieve that status. These
working groups are now active and
About printed electronics
Printed electronics is fast emerging
and set to revolutionize many
industrial applications. It consists
in the creation of electronic devices
and components using various
printing methods, equipment and
material.
This technology makes it
possible to produce a wide
variety of products that can be
used in countless applications.
It has other advantages, such
as much lower production costs
than for conventional electronics
and it can be applied to flexible
or rigid supports (or substrates).
Printed electronics transforms the
way electronic devices are made
and employed. Using materials
(inks and substrates) that have
conducting, semiconducting, nonconducting, electroluminescent, PV
(photovoltaic) or other properties,
and different printing methods (e.g.
lithography, inkjet, or screen printing,)
allows great design flexibility and
possibilities.
Both inorganic and organic materials
are used for printed electronics.
Organic materials can be found in
products such as OLED (organic
light-emitting diodes) displays
used in televisions sets, computer
monitors or mobile phones, and
OPVC (organic PV cells).
Innovative materials such as carbon
nanotubes allow new or enhanced
applications for batteries, new types
of solar cells, ultracapacitors and
electrical circuits.
Engineers throughout the world
use printed electronics to design a
variety of components and products,
such as TFT (thin film transistor),
fl exible displays that can be unfolded
to make up a large television, PV
(photovoltaic) cells that fi t windows
or the roofs of cars or innovative and
energy-efficient lighting solutions.
says. WG 2: Materials, is currently
working in two major areas, he goes on
to explain further. The first is standards
for printed electronics substrates with
the focus currently being on glass and
polymer media. “I would urge readers
with interest in other substrates such
as paper and inkjet media to look into
this work and consider involvement.”
Carbon nanotubes are used to make printed
electronic products
conducting meetings separate to the
plenary sessions. As an example WG 3:
Equipment, and WG 4: Printability,
have arranged a meeting together at a
common location in Tokyo, Japan.
There are two working groups that
should be of particular interest to the
OE-A (Organic and Printed Electronics
Association) community, Hodgson
participating with one more currently
seeking association. There are also
seven countries observing this work.
The next full meeting of TC 119 will take
place in Cambridge, United Kingdom,
on 17-19 March 2014. It will be followed
by a meeting “Manufacturing for
Printed Electronics” on 20 March and
visits to local institutions on 21 March.
WG 3: Equipment, is setting standards
for both contact and non-contact
fabrication. Current work includes
dimensions of printing plates and the
patterns thereon and performance
metrics for inkjet heads in Printed
Electronics applications.
Membership and meetings
Involvement in International Standards
activity is organized by country. TC 119
currently has 12 nations actively
Printed electronic component
Small or huge – displays are everywhere
Supporting our thirst for multimedia content electronic displays are part of our lives
that offer different characteristics
and functionalities. Ultra wide
monitors and TV sets, portable
computing devices and wearable
devices attracted most attention.
All these, and any other equipment
that uses electronic displays, rely
on standardization work from
Electronic display devices.
High-definition “Cloud” TV (Photo: Philips)
Morand Fachot
The top categories of products
presented at this year’s Las Vegas
Consumer Electronics Show and
due to come onto the market in
2014 include electronic displays
Ubiquitous displays
Electronic display devices dominate the
multimedia and ICT (Information and
Communications Technology) markets
and can be found in an increasingly
wide range of other domains.
The TV and IT industries have
always relied on electronic displays
27
technologies using LEDs, such as OLED
(organic light emitting diode display) and
AMOLED (active-matrix organic lightemitting diode), have been developed to
produce new types of FPDs for mobile
phones and now for TV sets
TC work central to FPD expansion
The FPD market, driven by high
demand in emerging economies
and an expanding range of possible
applications, is expected to reach
USD 110 billion by 2017.
LCD continues to be the largest
product segment in the FPD
market while the more recent OLED
technology, driven by applications
in mobile phones and television,
represents the fastest growing sector.
High-definition Kindle Fire e-reader (Photo: Amazon)
to transmit information to users.
automotive, aeronautics and avionics
Initially this was achieved by using
and transportation, all of which rely
CRT (cathode ray tube) displays.
on FPDs to operate smoothly and
CRT displays, first monochrome,
effectively.
then colour, were the only option
for TV sets, computers and other
Electronic displays have enabled
systems for nearly 60 years before
the spectacular expansion of mobile
being phased out by FPDs (flat panel
computing and telephony. They
displays). The transition was rapid in
have also allowed the emergence of
the IT industry, but much slower in
entirely new devices such as tablet
the TV domain. PDP (plasma display
computers and e-readers which
devices) and then LCD (Liquid Crystal
use EPD (electronic paper display),
Diode) screens came first, and now
a technology designed to mimic
other newer technologies are gradually
the appearance of ordinary ink on
replacing CRTs.
paper. New FPD technologies are
TC 110 prepares International
Standards in the field of electronic
display devices (excluding CRTs)
and specific relevant components.
It works on terms and definitions,
letter symbols, essential ratings and
characteristics, measuring methods,
specifications for quality assurance
and related test methods and
reliability.
It was initially established as
SC (Subcommittee) 47C in 1998
under TC 47: Semiconductor devices,
focusing on standards development
in the area of fl at panel display. It was
transformed into a full TC in June
2003 when it began to encompass
standardization work in OLED, 3DDD
(3 dimensional display devices for
3D TV), EPD or non-volatile display
devices, FDD (fl exible display devices)
and other emerging technologies.
constantly being developed, opening
up additional possibilities for existing
Limitless range of applications
devices and paving the way for new
Beyond the traditional TV and IT areas,
ones.
FPDs can be found in a multitude
of other devices and systems such
LED (light-emitting diode) backlighting,
as cash dispensers and information
resulting in a better image contrast and
boards. They are used in many
lower consumption, has been gradually
domains, such as medical, retail,
introduced into LCD displays. Different
To cover all devices, TC 110
established eight WGs (Working
Groups), each one dealing with a
specific area: LCD, PDP, OLED, 3DDD,
EPD, FDD, touch and interactive
displays – which are now to be found in
many devices and systems – and LDD
(laser display devices).
Lorry radio, navigation and telephone system with touch screen (Photo: Bosch)
Close relationships
TC 110 works closely with a number
of other IEC TCs, in particular TC 100:
Audio, video and multimedia systems
and equipment. As regulations in
most countries now require reducing
waste material and energy use through
recycling, reuse of components and
more energy-efficient appliances, it also
works directly with TC 111: Environmental
standardization for electrical and
electronic products and systems.
The global significance and impact
of TC 110 activities are illustrated by
its relationship with many important
international bodies. It works with
subcommittees of the CISPR
(International special committee on
radio interference). CISPR is an
organization within the IEC that was
established to consider the protection
of radio reception from interference. Its
members include CIGRE (International
Conference on Large Electric Systems),
the EBU (European Broadcasting Union),
ETSI (European Telecommunication
Standards Institute), IARU (International
Amateur Radio Union) and ITU-R
(International Telecommunication
Union, Radio Sector).
TC 110 also collaborates with the
CIE (International Commission on
Illumination) and ISO (International
Organization for Standardization)
TC 159/SC4: General ergonomics
principles – Ergonomics of humansystem interaction.
Improving existing technologies,
creating new ones
TC 110 works constantly to improve
FPD performance, in particular as
regards resolution, and in rolling out
new technologies.
Resolution is continually being improved.
One of the technologies that attracted
most attention at CES 2014 was UHDTV
(ultra high definition TV), which offers
16 times the number of pixels of HDTV
and has been demonstrated at various
professional shows since 2006.
The initial intention was to introduce
UHDTV in homes between 2016 and
2020. This timescale has contracted as
large-scale sales of UHDTV-capable
devices started in 2013. The second track
of TC 110 work concerns technologies.
The objective is to improve existing
technologies such as HDTV, 3DTV and
touch screens, and to develop new ones.
Examples of the latter include OLED, with
AMOLED, in particular, offering significant
prospects for better TV and mobile device
displays, as well as flexible, bendable and
even foldable displays.
TC 110 has published a series of
International Standards for OLED. The
first Standard for flexible display devices
was released in December 2013 and the
TC has now started work on Standards
for LDDs and for touch and interactive
displays.
With the growing global appetite for
higher quality and new functions in
multimedia devices, the range of
applications and demand for FPDs keep
expanding. To support this expansion,
TC 110, which has so far published over
35 International Standards, can expect a
significant workload over coming years.
29
Nightmare of a child chewing on a cord
IECEE Certification means safety
Aliyah Esmail
It happens to every parent at some
point. Your child is playing with
her toys in the living room. You
step out of the room for a minute,
knowing that the room has been
baby proofed, feeling confi dent
that nothing could happen. Then
you come back and see that your
curious little one is chewing on the
television cord. A raft of nightmare
scenarios pass before your eyes
as you imagine what could have
happened while you were gone.
Then you shake yourself and
remove the cord from your child’s
grasp. You are able to do this
because IECEE, the IEC System of
Conformity Assessment Schemes
for Electrotechnical Equipment
and Components, tests and
certifi es the safety of audio/video
equipment.
Printer, computers, televisions,
oh my
Audiovisual and information and
communication technology equipment
can be found in almost every home and
A child being hurt is any parent’s nightmare
work environment. The widespread use
of electrically powered devices means
they have to be safe to install, operate
and maintain.
Safety of electronic equipment within
the field of audio/video, information
technology and communication
technology, prepares International
Standards to make sure that these
pieces of equipment are safe to use
and have around.
Conformity Assessment certification helps to
support safe devices
IEC 62368-1, Audio/video, information
and communication technology
equipment - Part 1: Safety requirements,
is the safety standard for AV (audiovisual)
products and ITE (information technology
equipment). This Standard is applicable
to the safety of electrical and electronic
equipment within the field of audio,
video, information and communication
technology, and business and office
machines with a rated voltage not
exceeding 600 V.
Tested and certifi ed
Having these pieces of equipment
designed and manufactured according
to IEC International Standards is just
the first step. Manufacturers then need
to prove that their products conform to
the standards. Again, the IEC offers the
solution, through IECEE.
The IECEE CB (Certification Body)
Scheme, through its registered CBTLs
(Certification Body Testing Laboratories)
and NCBs (National Certification
Bodies), can test and certify AV and
ITE equipment manufactured according
to IEC International Standards.
When testing AV and ITE equipment,
IECEE focuses on multiple aspects.
These include protection against
access to live parts, input and current,
endurance, abnormal operation,
mechanical hazards and strength,
switches, internal wiring, supply
connection and external flexible cords,
provisions for earthing and resistance
to heat and fire.
The IECEE CB Scheme provides the
assurance that tested and certifi ed
products meet the strictest levels of
safety, reliability and performance as
per the requirements of the relevant
IEC standards. It helps reduce costs
and time to market, eliminates duplicate
or multiple testing and offers a high
level of confidence for manufacturers,
retailers and consumers alike.
This means that your audio/video and
information technology equipment can
cope with curious fingers, so long as
they’re playing gently, but you might
IECEE CBs can test and certify AV and ITE
equipment to ensure safety
still want to keep a watchful eye open.
Who knows what other kinds of trouble
your child could get into?
A CA perspective from Turkey
Interview with İhsaner Alkım, Executive Committee Member, Vestel
Janice Blondeau
One of Turkey’s leading companies
and leading consumer electrical
equipment manufacturer, Vestel
has been part of IEC Conformity
Assessment System IECEE for
the last ten years. e-tech spoke
to İhsaner Alkım, Vestel Executive
Committee Member, about what
this brings to Vestel and his advice
to other companies, big and small.
Conformity Assessment, is highly
regarded. Under these circumstances,
Vestel applies for 3 rd Party Conformity
Assessment which is performed by
independent CBs (Certification Bodies)
in order to provide the highest level of
confidence. This process ends up with
fully trusted certifications. Our own
laboratories located in our factories are
authorized to be MTLs (Manufacturer
Testing Laboratories) under this
scheme (please see IECEE OD2019) and we use SMTL (Supervised
Customer confi dence in products
e-tech: How is Vestel involved in IEC
conformity assessment work?
You know that the term “Conformity
Assessment” means to determine
whether a product fulfils the related
requirements under certain standards or
not. Conformity Assessment is needed
mainly because the consumers want to
trust the product they purchase and the
governments want to have only “no-risk”
products available to their people.
IECEE, the IEC System of Conformity
Testing and Certification for
Electrotechnical Equipment and
Components, which is 3 rd Party
e-tech: For how long has the company
been involved in IEC work?
Vestel has been designing its products
according to IEC International
Standards for around 25 years.
Our own laboratories located in
our factories have been working as
Manufacturer Testing Laboratories
under IECEE system for 10 years.
Manufacturer Testing Laboratory)
procedure where possible.
İhsaner Alkim, Executive Committee
Member, Vestel (Photo: Vestel)
CB certifi cate is a good passport
e-tech: What benefits does it bring to
your company?
Vestel, as one of the biggest consumer
electronics and home appliances
manufacturer in Europe, is using IEC
Standards and the IEC Conformity
Assessment System in order to achieve
the highest benefi ts while producing
around 15 million products per year
and transfer them to around 150
different countries worldwide. This
reduces the trade barriers caused by
different certification requirements
in different countries. Having a CB
certificate which is a strong passport
for customs and enables a worldwide
trade is really the biggest benefi t for all
manufacturers. Having our products
31
more critical than it was some decades
ago. So, each manager should think
about using IEC in order to have
official and trusted passports for
their products which then can help
reach many markets worldwide. We
believe that having this trusted IEC
recognition on the products is a very
important advantage to each company.
Worldwide trade with trusted products
is possible with IEC Conformity
Assessment Systems.
Vestel has MTL located in their factories (Photo: Vestel)
certifi ed by an IEC CA system makes
us feel the strength of this reputable
organization behind us and feel the
confidence that we have official and
trusted approval of our products. One
other benefi t is that we can be so fast
with IEC CA certification when entering
to a market and we can reduce the
costs by not performing multiple tests
and approvals. The key is, “one test,
one certificate, all markets” and we
can do this with the IEC Conformity
Assessment System.
e-tech: Approximately how many
people from your company are involved
in the IECEE Conformity Assessment
Schemes?
Approximately 75 people are involved
in the IECEE Conformity Assessment
Schemes. They are experts for different
IEC Standards depending on the
product group and they are working
with CB Test Laboratories to have
CB test reports and finally CB test
certificates.
Certifi cation under IECEE Schemes
e-tech: What are the particular areas of
IEC CA that Vestel is involved in?
The IEC Conformity Assessment
System for Vestel is IECEE. Our
products are tested according to
related IEC Standards and we have
our CB test certificates together
with CB test reports. This is a
3 rd Party Conformity Assessment
and we cooperate with our partner
CB Test Laboratories and their NCBs
(national certification bodies). All of
our products, such as televisions,
satellite receivers, monitors, tablets
PCs, refrigerators, washing machines,
dishwashers, air conditioners, cookers
and LED lighting appliances, are
certifi ed under the IECEE Schemes.
e-tech: Do you also participate in
standardization work at a national
level? Could you please give some
details?
We are joining the Mirror Committees
of our NC (National Committee) and
sharing our experience on that national
platform. We will soon be joining the
standardization work at an international
level.
Facilitates global trade
e-tech: What advice would you give
to CTOs who aren’t convinced that
participating in IEC work brings
advantages to the company?
Trade is becoming more global dayby-day and recognition of safety,
performance and other important
characteristics of products is becoming
more important. This makes trading
IEC YPP growing the next
generation of experts
e-tech: Can you also explain about
your support of the IEC Young
Professionals Programme?
Due to the importance of being
involved in IEC work, we encourage
our young experts to know IEC better
and to play some roles in IEC where
possible. We see IEC YP (Young
Professionals) programme as a very
well prepared programme during which
the young experts get to know about
IEC in detail. Each year, we apply for
this programme and up to now we have
joined twice; Melbourne in 2011 and
New Delhi in 2013.
e-tech: Do you help to build awareness
of the importance of international
standardization and conformity
assessment at Vestel and in the
marketplace?
The awareness of the importance
of international standardization and
conformity assessment is now already
at a mature level in Vestel. We are
trying to maintain this level all the
time. We are periodically performing
internal and external seminars and
trainings to keep this awareness
level, not only internally within Vestel,
but also for the marketplace. We are
providing valuable information to our
customers in different markets about
the importance of standardization and
conformity assessment, and trying to
help build awareness by putting IEC
approved products in around
150 countries.
making business with. Use the key
“one test, one certificate, all markets.”
IEC Conformity Assessment is bringing
the vision of “one test, one certificate, all
markets” closer (Photo: Vestel)
Working with IEC brings benefi ts to
companies of all sizes
e-tech: Is there anything else that you’d
like to share?
I would like to thank you for giving me
such an opportunity to explain why
IEC is a trusted roof for companies
and how my company works within
related IEC CA Systems. I suggest all
companies to take advantage of IEC
by means of conformity assessment
and standardization work. Being
involved in IEC work will provide every
company many advantages regardless
of their size or the markets they are
About the Vestel Group of
Companies
Operating in electronics, white goods
and IT fields and consisting of a total
25 companies, which 17 of them are
abroad, Vestel Group of Companies is
the flagship of Zorlu Group. Vestel is
one of the strongest actors and one of
the biggest manufacturers in its sector
in the Turkish and international markets.
It offers a wide range of products in
consumer electronics, white goods, IT
and digital fields with its technology and
design development competency.
Vestel carries out its manufacturing
operations at Manisa and Alexandrov,
Russia. With a total area of 1,1 million m²
in Manisa, Vestel City is the biggest
industrial complex of Europe carrying
out manufacturing at a single location.
Vestel has raised its rank from 210 to
193 in “250 largest consumer products
companies in the world” category in
Deloitte’s “Global Powers of Consumer
Products Industry 2012” report. Vestel
realizes 2% of Turkey’s total export as
of 2012 and is the export champion of
Turkey in electronics sector for 15 years.
Vestel received a total of 92 design
awards in 2012 from prestigious
international design contests including
Plus X Award, A Design Award, Red Dot
Design Award, IF Product Design Award
and Good Design Award.
İhsaner Alkım, Vestel TV Products
group, Executive Committee
Member
İhsaner Alkım graduated from Istanbul
Technical University, Electronics
and Communications Engineering
Department, in 1977. After assuming
various posts in the communications
and electronics sectors, he joined the
Vestel family in 1988. Alkım has served
in various R&D related positions in
Vestel. Appointed in 2005 as Executive
Committee Member Alkim continues to
hold this position.
Failure can lead to disaster
IECEx International Conference in Malaysia
installations for extraction,
processing and distribution,
requiring increasing levels of
capital investment. To protect
these investments and the people
working in the installations,
compliance with International
Standards is paramount.
Through IECEx safety in high-risk areas has
become an attainable goal
Aliyah Esmail
In explosive areas, seemingly
small failures can have disastrous
effects. To meet the world’s ever
increasing demand for energy,
the oil and gas industries have
built larger and more complex
IECEx in Asia
Most Asian countries are involved in
the oil, gas or mining industries in some
way. This means that a great number
of people are employed by oil, gas or
mining companies, either directly on
the production and processing side
of the business or in repairing and
maintaining the equipment used in
these industries.
The conference
To help introduce the benefits of
IECEx (IEC System for Certification to
Standards Relating to Equipment for Use
in Explosive Atmospheres) to the Asian
economy, the Department of Standards
Malaysia and MOSTI (Ministry of Science,
Technology and Innovation) have
volunteered to host and help organize
this special two-day IECEx International
Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The 2014 IECEx International
Conference is also organized by the
33
evaluation and certification of
personnel competence.
Safety is the fi rst priority
IECEx has set out to prove that safety
in high risk areas is an attainable goal.
The United Nations, via the UNECE,
endorsed IECEx as the internationally
recognized certification system for
promoting the safety of equipment,
services and personnel associated
with explosive areas.
The 2014 IECEx International Conference will take place in Malaysia on 19-20 February 2014
IEC and IECEx in conjunction with the
UNECE (United Nations Economic
Commission for Europe). The major
sponsor of the event is PETRONAS.
This two day event, taking place on
19 and 20 February 2014, will provide
a unique opportunity for industries in
the region to better understand
IEC International Standards and
Conformity Assessment Systems. The
Conference will show them how they
can benefi t from the IECEx services
that cover Ex equipment and systems.
World experts share experience
and knowledge
The conference will bring together
experts from all over the world who
are involved in the international
standardization, equipment
manufacture, inspection, repair and
overhaul of Ex equipment and systems,
and the assessment and certification
of personnel competence. Issues
concerning Asia Pacific industry needs
will also be covered.
Through their presentations and direct
contact with participants, the experts
will be able to share their experience
and detailed knowledge of all matters
pertaining to the Ex field, such as
plant design, principles and practical
applications of area classification,
installation and repair in compliance
with IEC International Standards.
They will answer questions, provide
advice and give valuable information to
anyone involved in the Ex sector.
IECEx not only provides services
that verify that devices are able to
function safely in explosive areas, it
also enables the Ex industry to ensure
that design, installation, maintenance,
repair and inspection services
for equipment are undertaken by
personnel competent to execute them
in accordance with the relevant IEC
International Standards.
“This IECEx event is the first in Asia.
It is a powerful tool that can provide
professionals in any Ex sector with the
ability to bring safety to the forefront
and help their business protect lives
and jobs,” said Chris Agius, Executive
Secretary of IECEx.
Who should attend?
The event is for experts, senior
staff and professionals from any
Ex industry sector who are involved
in the standardization, manufacture,
inspection, repair, exploitation,
maintenance and overhaul of
equipment as well as systems
Benefi t by attending
If you would like to benefi t from the
experience of the experts who can
help your business to be safer, please
send your details to info@iecex.com.
For more information on IECEx,
please visit www.iecex.com and for
the complete programme, go to the
dedicated conference section on the
IECEx website: http://www.iecex.com/
malaysia/programme.html
About IECEx
IECEx (IEC System for Certification
to Standards relating to Equipment
for use in Explosive Atmospheres)
provides certification for areas where
there is a risk of fire and/or explosion
due to flammable gases, liquids and
dusts (Ex areas).
Ex areas are a part of almost every
industry, from transport, food production
and textiles to petroleum and mining.
The oil and gas industries have come to rely
on IECEx certification for equipment and
personnel
IECEx covers the broad spectrum of
devices, systems and services used in
explosive environments and verifies their
conformity to International Standards.
The System addresses inspection
(location and other), installation,
maintenance and repair of equipment
and systems, and assesses the
competence of personnel working in this
highly specialized area.
IECEx has been endorsed by the
UN via the UNECE as the certification
system for the assessment of
conformity in Ex areas: www.iecex.com
Gifts that can be hazardous
IECQ promotes safety in electronic components
and production processes. IECQ
HSPM was developed in response to
the need for component manufacturers
to enable suppliers to demonstrate,
through third-party assessment,
that their electrical and electronic
components and assemblies meet
specific hazardous substance-free
local, national and international
requirements.
Aliyah Esmail
Children born in the 1990s
probably can’t remember what it
was like without internet access,
when making a mixed tape was
cool or when the newest game
from Sega was the Christmas gift
that everyone yearned for. Since
that time kids’ toys and children’s
own technological understanding
have advanced. But how safe is
that robotic dog that you want to
buy for your child?
Parents have to pick electronic
toys carefully
There are more toys in the world than
can be packed in any one store and
thousands of new devices come into
the market every year. Now there
are toys that are so technologically
advanced that parents need text books
to figure out how to help their child
assemble them. Quite apart from the
cool factor of having toys that include
electronic components, parents need
to be careful that the objects that they
are giving their children have been
tested and certifi ed.
Threats to a child’s safety
One of the issues associated with
electronic components is that some
of them may contain hazardous
substances such as lead, cadmium
or mercury. In toys this could be a
disaster if a child dismantles the object
and puts the components in its mouth.
Though toys with electric components are cool
to have, parents need to be careful that these
components have been tested and certified
Once the toy is no longer wanted,
there could be problems with handing
the toy on, as it could be unsafe for
the next child that uses it or it could
harm the environment. Manufacturers
everywhere are trying to restrict the use
of hazardous substances in electronic
products and components.
IECQ supports safety
IECQ (IEC Quality Assessment System
for Electronic Components) has the
perfect solution for toy manufacturers
who want to create safe and certifi ed
electronic toys that have hazardous
substance-free electronic components.
IECQ HSPM (Hazardous Substance
Process Management) is a technicallybased management systems approach
to implementing and maintaining
hazardous substance-free products
IECQ HSPM Certification provides
confidence on a worldwide scale
that companies operate systems that
comply with the IECQ Specification,
QC 080000. This specification details
the management and technical
requirements that IECQ HSPM certifi ed
companies need to undertake to
provide the market with full confidence
concerning the control of hazardous
substances.
This means that toys using electronic
components from suppliers that are
certifi ed under HSPM are manufactured
with hazardous substance-free
electronic components. However, it
Eliminating hazardous substances from toys
also helps deal with recycling and electronic
waste
35
does not provide parents with the
guarantee that their kids won’t tear
apart their new cool toy while they’re
not looking, resulting in the destruction
of their house.
About IECQ
As a worldwide approval and
certification system covering the
supply of electronic components,
assemblies and associated materials
and processes, IECQ allows
manufacturers and suppliers to
provide independent verification
that the specifications (including
IEC International Standards) are met.
This gives end manufacturers the
reassurance of knowing that suppliers
holding IECQ certification do not need
stringent second party assessment
or monitoring.
The old game consoles would not be considered cool by kids today
The plethora of electronic components
and processes covered by IECQ are
used in all kinds of technologies,
from the smallest device to the most
complex piece of equipment. IECQ’s
contribution to a safer and more
reliable world can only increase with
the development of new technologies
and state-of-the-art electronic devices.
World Electronics Forum
Discovering new facets of IEC work
Gabriela Ehrlich
During CES (Consumer Electronics
Show), which takes place every
year in January in Las Vegas, the
WEF (World Electronics Forum)
holds its bi-annual meeting,
bringing together CEOs, Presidents
and high level decision makers
of industry and electronics
manufacturer associations.
As an offi cial observer, the IEC
participates in both the bi-annual
and the annual event, which this
year will take place in Lagos,
Nigeria during the Digital Africa
summit. Participation in the Forum
offers an excellent opportunity to
network with leaders of the hightech industry, learn about new
developments in this industry, and
to share IEC work in International
Standardization and Conformity
Assessment.
This year’s bi-annual WEF meeting
in Las Vegas brought together
representatives from 15 countries. The
IEC presented its efforts to combat
counterfeit electronics. This is a major
issue for the electronics industry and
delegates of WEF were surprised to
discover that the IEC offers real-life
industry solutions in this area through
IECQ and IECEE.
Counterfeit components affect the
whole supply chain
Counterfeit goods are an increasing
problem everywhere. It’s not just
high value parts that are being
counterfeited; piracy in components is
increasing exponentially. This
has become a significant problem
that affects the whole electronics
supply chain, down to the end
product.
The World Electronics Forum held its
bi-annual meeting during CES in January
of this year
Increased liability and cost
Counterfeit electrical and electronic
products and components can be
dangerous because they often use
cheap raw material. They are often also
poorly assembled, and generally are
not tested or certifi ed.
Electronic components from discarded
electrical devices (e-waste) are equally
dangerous because they generally
don’t retain their original specifications
and are presented to the market as
a new product.
The use of such recycled or pirated
electronic components can result in the
deterioration of whole products
and systems.
More than a nuisance
While counterfeit electrical and
electronic products can be a nuisance
when they result in the destruction
of a household appliance or a home
entertainment system, they can be
a significant safety hazard, causing
injuries and death in addition to
substantial losses in property. They
can have catastrophic consequences
in aerospace where loss of
performance or reliability is then
generally fatal.
The aerospace industry is closely
working with the IEC to fight the
piracy of electronic components.
The IECQ Counterfeit Avoidance Programme leads the way in avoiding counterfeit and
recycled electronic components
IECEE and IECQ offer real-life industry solutions by providing approvement and certification
amongst other services
An important tool
WEF members were interested to
learn that third-party certification can
be an important deterrent against
counterfeit electronics. It provides
independent verification of a product
or component and helps reduce
liability in case of incidents. While
some of the people in the room knew
about IECQ, they were generally
not aware of the IECQ Counterfeit
Avoidance Programme for electronic
components and assemblies. They
learned with interest that IECQ
provides immediate online verification
that helps spot fake merchandise.
Additionally the programme includes
certification for component suppliers
as well as supply chain management
and control mechanisms that support
the quality assurance of electronic
components.
The IEC presentation gave WEF
members a new insight into IEC work
beyond standardization.
37
IEC FAMILY
Introducing the IEC 2013 Young
Professional Leaders
Growing the next generation of electrotechnology standardization experts
Janice Blondeau
Upcoming expert engineers,
technicians and managers from
throughout the world, who aspire
to become more involved in the
IEC and help shape the future
of international standardization
and conformity assessment in
the fi eld of electrotechnology are
brought together in the IEC Young
Professionals programme. For this
month’s magazine, e-tech profi les
the three 2013 Leaders of the IEC
Young Professionals programme
who were elected by their peers in
New Delhi. Please give them your
support!
Introducing Ethan Biery, of the
United States of America
Ethan Biery, representing the IEC National
Committee of the US
Ethan Biery holds a Bachelors and
Masters of Science from Lehigh
University, Bethlehem, PA, USA. Biery
works at Lutron Electronics where he
gained initial exposure on the impact
that international standards can have
on the product development process
through his experience with product
design. Over time, Biery has become
familiar with LED lighting technology,
with involvement in related standards
development projects through Zhaga
(an international consortium of lighting
manufacturers) and NEMA (the USbased National Electrical Manufacturers
Association). Biery is a US National
Committee expert for IEC SC
(Subcommittee) 23B: Plugs, socketoutlets and switches, where he is
helping ensure that globally-developed
lighting controls and LED light sources
meet customer safety, reliability and
performance requirements.
On the IEC Young Professionals
workshop
Speaking about the IEC Young
Professionals workshop in New Delhi,
Biery had this to say, “Participating in
these Young Professional meetings has
really helped me to understand how the
standard gets created, the work that
goes into it, and really the rationale and
the decision making process that goes
into developing a complex standard…
But I learned that team work,
communication, and networking with
others… are really the most important
skills to have.”
Introducing Adam Hamilton, of
South Africa
Adam Hamilton holds Honours in a
Bachelor of Science in Engineering,
Mechanical Engineering, from the
University of Cape Town, South Africa.
While at university, Hamilton received a
bursary from Eskom Holdings Limited
for his last two years of study and
he subsequently gained experience
in the manufacturing industry, with
Praga Technical, where he spent
time developing understanding of the
Young Professional Leader Adam Hamilton,
of South Africa
engineering principles used in this
industry. During this time Hamilton
had an opportunity to train at a power
station which led to his enjoyment and
passion for energy.
Over the last two years Hamilton has
worked for Eskom Holdings, as a
Turbine System engineer at a power
station. He was part of the Power
Station Enhancement Programme
team, focused on improving station
performance, building the strategy
and completing an implementation plan
to roll-out enhancement initiatives.
In 2013, Hamilton completed a
12-month externship development
programme with McKinsey & Company
producing strategy, completing lean
optimisation studies and supporting
a site management team to build a
800 MW unit.
Impressions of Delhi workshop
“New Delhi gave me global
perspectives on standardization.
I worked with and formed networks
with extraordinary young professionals
from all walks of life. Each YP help
broaden my knowledge horizon and
IEC FAMILY
industrial trucks in the project team
which develops the standard for
Wireless Power Transfer for EV charging.
help me realise the power of the global
community within the IEC.”
The benefits of participating in the
workshop were:
• Networking with young
professionals from around the world
• Understanding how standardization
shapes industry economics
• Understanding the details of making
a standard
Introducing Dimitrios Ladas, of
France
Dimitrios Ladas has a Masters of
Science in Electrical Engineering and
Control from the National Engineering
School in Electrotechnology,
Electronics, Computer Sciences,
Hydraulics and Telecommunications
of Toulouse (ENSEEIHT) in 2004. He
also holds a Ph. D. from Polytechnic
National Institute of Grenoble (INPG)
in 2008. Ladas began his career at
Schneider Electric in 2008 as technical
leader on R&D projects aimed at
Dimitrios Ladas, representing the French
National Committee of the IEC
improving the electrical durability of
contactors. Since 2010, he has been
the project leader of the EV (Electric
Vehicle) Inductive Charging project and
as an expert in electromagnetism and
electrotechnologies, he is responsible
for the design of the air-core
transformer.
Since 2011, Ladas has been a member
of IEC TC (Technical Committee) 69:
Electric road vehicles and electric
In his own words…
On participating in the IEC Young
Professionals - 2013 workshop, Ladas
said, “I think it’s a really great opportunity
to meet other standardization delegates,
also other Young Professionals, because
we were 55 from many different
countries…The benefits are clearly that
through these kinds of programmes
young engineers could have an influence
on future standards.”
Calling Young Professionals!
Information about the IEC Young
Professionals - 2014 workshop is
available from National Committees
and on the IEC website. Registration
will open from mid-May until the end of
June. Contact your National Committee
for details of the selection process in
your country.
Closer ties to build trade and share
expertise
Statement of Cooperation signed between the IEC, RusAccreditation
and Rosstandart
operating in international markets
and international companies
working in the Russian market,
the IEC and Russian Federal
assessment agencies have signed
a Statement of Cooperation.
L to R: Grigory Elkin, Pierre De Ruvo and Savva
Shipov signing the Statement of Cooperation
Janice Blondeau
In a move that will bring benefits
to both Russian companies
IEC, Rosstandart and
RusAccreditation cooperation
The 23 December 2013 Statement of
Cooperation was agreed between the
IEC, Rosstandart (Federal Agency on
Technical Regulation and Metrology,
the national standardization body
of the Russian Federation) and
RusAccreditation (Russian Federal
Accreditation Service).
The IEC was represented by former
IECEE Executive Secretary & COO
Pierre de Ruvo, while the Head of
Rosstandart Grigory Elkin and the
Head of RusAccreditation Savva
Shipov represented the Russian
agencies.
39
IEC FAMILY
one step closer to becoming a reality.
Elkin, the head of Rosstandart, noted
that the Statement of Cooperation
will promote a close cooperation with
the IEC. He also emphasised the
importance of establishing unifi ed
procedures for the recognition of
the certificates issued by members
of IECEE conformity testing and
certification schemes.
Russian and international companies will
benefit by recognition of certificates issued
by IECEE scheme members
Moving closer to one test, one
certifi cate, all markets
The Statement of Cooperation
represents a significant step in enabling
increased trade with Russia. It aims
to eliminate excessive regulation
in the trade of electrotechnical
products, facilitating, for example,
the acceptance of certificates issued
by IECEE (IEC System for Conformity
Assessment of Electrotechnical
Equipment and Components). Put
simply, this Statement of Cooperation
means that the “one test, one
certificate, all markets” vision is moving
Opportunities for Russian
technical experts
Savva Shipov, the Head of
RusAccreditation, stated that as
well as expanding opportunities for
international cooperation, this new
agreement allows specialists from
Russia, who are recognized by IECEE
as technical experts, to take part in
the accreditation processes. The IEC
Conformity Assessment Systems such
as IECEE help to reduce technical
barriers to trade. They also help to
reduce evaluation time for products,
the cost of testing and time to market.
De Ruvo thanked all who participated
in the preparation of the document on
the Russian side, especially the experts
of Rosstandart, RusAccreditation and
the public corporation VNIIS (Russian
Research Institute for Certification JSC).
Since 1995, the active participation
of Russia in the IECEE has seen
the implementation of procedures
for recognizing foreign conformity
assessment certificates, lowering
the cost of electrical products for
consumers. It has also simplifi ed
the administration of conformity
assessment certificates that are
accepted in 52 industrialized countries
without adding costs for re-testing
electrotechnical conformity.
The vision of “one test, one certificate, all
markets” moves a step closer
A focus on industry and evolution
Michel Brénon looks back at his time in Conformity Assessment
Aliyah Esmail
With a lifelong passion for
assessment work, Michel Brénon
has focused on industry needs
and has helped each of the IEC CA
(Conformity Assessment) Systems
evolve. Now that he has stepped
down from his latest positions
as a Member of the IEC CAB
(Conformity Assessment Board)
as well as IECQ (IEC Quality
Assessment System for Electronic
Components) Vice-Chairman and
Secretary of the IECEx (IEC System
for Certifi cation to Standards
Relating to Equipment for Use in
Explosive Atmospheres) Technical
Committee, ExTAG, he looks back
at the evolution of the CA Systems.
Brénon’s past revisited
Brénon has been using standards for
much of his career, which started in
the 1970s. The IEC Standards, about
which he talks enthusiastically, have
been a part of his working life from
the time that he joined LCIE Bureau
Veritas. In 1994 Brénon started as
the Head of the HAZLOC Department
(Testing and Certification). Since
then he held a number of positions at
LCIE, most recently that of Director of
Certification before he retired at the
end of 2013.
Brénon has been a highly active expert
over a number of years, serving IEC
in the areas of both Standards and
Conformity Assessment.
At IECQ he held the position of ViceChairman for two terms starting
in January 2010. He was already
participating in IECEx before it officially
became a System, and he helped with
the transition. He was nominated as
IEC FAMILY
Michel Brénon
Michel Brénon’s professional career
included a Master of Science
Michel Brénon
the Secretary of the IECEx Testing
and Assessment Group in 1997 and
held the position until the end of 2013.
Brénon has been involved in several
IECEE (IEC System for Conformity
Assessment of Electrotechnical
Equipment and Components)
Certification Management Committee
Working Groups and has been
Convenor of Working Group 3,
Manufacturers’ Testing Laboratories/
Customer Testing Facilities. He was a
member of CAB WG 10, WG 12 and
other Working Groups.
“Since beginning with this, one of the
changes that I’ve seen is that there is
more interest by industry in Standards
than ever before,” said Brénon.
“Now you have working groups and
development groups that are interested
in the technical aspects but also in the
continuity of the Standards. The needs
that industry tells us about are being
met.”
Importance of Conformity
Assessment
Certification looks at both safety
and performance and both aspects
are very important to Brénon. He
mentioned that products that are
certified gain the acceptance of
degree in Physical Chemistry and
a graduate engineering degree in
Organic Chemistry Specializing in
Industrial Chemistry.
•
Michel has held numerous
professional appointments
including:
• Member of the French National
Committee and the French
Ministry of Industry continuously
since 1994
• The French National
representative to IECEE, IECEx,
IECQ and to European Schemes
He was a university teacher
from 1975-1978 then moved to
industry, taking up a position
as Development Engineer with
Goodyear in 1978 and progressing
to Development Manager there
before moving to LCIE Bureau
Veritas in 1994.
governments, experts and the
market. The country experts who
work with the Systems can change
the specifications to the certification
so that there is less of a hurdle to
overcome when entering a country.
If electronic components, for example,
were not being certified, reliability of
equipment communications may well
be compromised. If household electrical
items were not certified then houses
could burn down. If the equipment in an
explosive environment was not properly
installed and maintained, it might mean
big cities being evacuated because of
the danger.
“Each of the CA Systems is focusing on
safety, performance and accessibility
to markets,” he said.
CA in developing countries
Substandard electrical and electronic
goods are dumped in the marketplaces
of many developing countries. Having
a guarantee that only safe equipment
reaches the local market becomes ever
more important.
Developing countries are beginning
to use IEC Conformity Assessment
Systems to ensure that imported
Expert member to the ATEX
Notified Bodies group (ExNB)
including serving as ExNB
Chairman
electrical and electronic goods are
built according to IEC International
Standards for safety and efficiency.
The IECEE has begun to train
developing countries on things like
electrical safety for refrigerators
and luminaires as well as of audio
and video electronic equipment.
The System administers third-party
conformity testing and certification
procedures that address the safety,
quality, efficiency and overall
performance of components and
goods used in the home or office or in
health facilities.
By helping developing countries the
CA Systems are promoting worldwide
safety. Brénon says that he hopes that
this will continue. In the future, when
he has more time, he is hoping to
help organizations like AFSEC (African
Electrotechnical Standardization
Commission) promote this sort of
training and bring it to more people.
“Developing countries unfortunately
receive products that would not be
accepted in Europe, the US, Russia,
or China (to name a few). These
countries are now asking for proof
of safety and performance from the
products that are imported and used
41
IEC FAMILY
forces with the United Nations,
through UNECE, the IEC and IECEx
aim to act as catalysts for a broad
coalition that will help ensure safety
for industries where flammable or
combustible materials are used, stored
or transported.
Future challenges
“The work that has been done has
been quite successful, but the Systems
are still evolving and must continue to
evolve,” said Brénon.
L to R: Chris Agius, IECQ and IECEx Executive Secretary, Michel Brénon, Dave W. Smith,
former Chairman of the IECQ Management Committee, and Pierre de Ruvo, former IECEE
Secretary and Chief Operating Officer
by their populations and this is a step
in the right direction,” said Brénon.
Brénon and IECEx
Brénon has been working with IECEx
since 1996 and he attended its first
meeting – held before it officially even
had a name, he mentions, laughing.
Unless you drive an electric car,
you are bound to enter a potentially
hazardous area each time you need
to put fuel in your vehicle. The most
prevalent risks associated with fuel
station environment hazards are fires
and explosions.
“IECEx covers fewer standards but is
very important. You would not want the
gas line to blow up when you went to
get gas,” said Brénon.
He added that these evolutions will
go into areas that may not have been
foreseen. This will allow the IEC to
incorporate new industries and bring
a greater depth to the work of the IEC
and the CA Systems.
One of the advances that has
particularly pleased Brénon has been
that the UNECE (United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe)
has specified a regulatory platform
endorsing IECEx certification
and IECEx certified products
as the standard for all explosive
atmospheres.
The most important role of the United
Nations is to protect people. In joining
No car owner thinks that they will be hurt
when refuelling their car because of IECEx
ACEA nominations
Two new members join the IEC Advisory Committee on Environmental Aspects
Zoé Smart
ACEA (Advisory Committee on
Environmental Aspects) is made
up of a total of 16 members,
nominated by NCs (National
Committees) and appointed by the
SMB (Standardization Management
Board) following a vote. As of
1 January 2014, ACEA welcomes two
new members, Tsuyoshi Naruoka,
TC 100 representative and Lucio
Azzola, SC 17B representative.
Providing expert environmental
guidance
ACEA was set up to advise and guide
the SMB on all environmental issues
that could arise from the impact of
products or systems using electrical
technology, including electronics
and telecommunications. It plays
an important role in ensuring that
IEC Standards developers take
environmental protection concerns
into account in their standardization
work and to that end has developed
IEC Guide 109, Environmental aspects
- Inclusion in electrotechnical product
standards.
About Tsuyoshi Naruoka
Tsuyoshi Naruoka has a keen interest
in environmental and international
standardization activities and has held
the position of Technical Secretary of
IEC TC (Technical Committee) 100/TA
IEC FAMILY
Having led a number of discussions
on eco-friendly product design and
provided recommendations on the
drafts of European energy-saving
regulations, he brings with him a
wealth of knowledge and expertise to
contribute to the work of ACEA.
Tsuyoshi Naruoka is a new member and
TC 100 representative to ACEA
(Technical Area) 13: Environment for AV
and multimedia equipment since 2011.
He is Director of the Green Solution
Promotion Department at Fujitsu where
he participates in innovative work in the
fi elds of ecologically-conscious product
design and related technologies.
Since 2008, Naruoka has been
an active member of JEITA (Japan
Electronics and Information
Technology Industries Association),
joining the PC Energy Saving
Committee, and the AV & IT
Standardization Committee in 2010.
About Lucio Azzola
As Global BU Technology Manager
Low Voltage Breakers & Switches at
ABB, Lucio Azzola is responsible
for driving technology development
in line with technology trends, market
requirements and standard and
environmental requirements. He
also manages feasibility and
technology scouting studies, while
cooperating with University and
Research Centres.
An Electrical Engineer, Azzola is
convenor of WG 10: Constructional
requirements and environmental
aspects of IEC SC (Subcommittee) 17B:
Low-voltage switchgear and controlgear.
His expertise and knowledge of
the field will be a welcome addition
to ACEA.
Lucio Azzola is joining ACEA as SC 17B
representative
ACEA plays an important role in ensuring IEC
standards developers take environmental
concerns into account when developing new
standards
Obituary
Professor Takashi Tomita
Claire Marchand
The IEC was saddened by the
death of Professor Takashi Tomita,
who passed away on 20 January
2014, at the age of 63.
Professor Takashi Tomita (Photo: Takako
Ushigome, Smart Solar International Inc)
In recent years, Takashi Tomita was
Chief Executive officer of Smart Solar
International Inc., a spin-off from the
University of Tokyo’s RCAST (Research
Center for Advanced Science and
Technology); Tomita also played an
important role in the IEC, as a member
of the MSB (Market Strategy Board)
until 2011.
Signifi cant contributions to
technological advances
A specialist in semiconductor physics,
solid state electronics, optical processes,
and microwave electronics, Professor
Tomita’s work contributed significantly to
the development of new technologies in
the field of crystalline silicon cell/modules,
amorphous/micro-crystalline silicon
thin film processes, and 3-5 compound
semiconductor cells/concentrators.
Huge success in the solar energy field
Professor Tomita graduated from Kyoto
University in 1974 and the same year
43
IEC FAMILY
working group, Technology and Market
Watch, and played a key role in recruiting
the professional technology watch team
members. The objective of the special
working group was to provide the IEC
with a mechanism to gather technical
and market trend information and identify
those technology areas requiring the
Commission’s immediate attention.
Professor Tomita displays an innovative solar power panel using moving mirrors that follow
the sun throughout the day. (Photo: PhysOrg)
joined Sharp, a company where he
spent most of his professional career.
He served as General Manager of
the Energy Conversion Laboratories,
Corporate Research and Development
Group and in 1997 became General
Manager of the Photovoltaics Division,
Electronic Components Group. In 2003
he was appointed Group Deputy General
Manager of the Solar Systems Group
and Group General Manager of the Solar
Systems Division. In that position, he was
instrumental in leading the company to
become the largest solar supplier in the
world for seven consecutive years (20002006), achieving a total solar business
volume of USD 1,5 billion in 2006, and
establishing Sharp – the company
launched its first solar product in 1962 –
as the top residential solar supplier in the
world.
From business to academia
In 2008 Tomita was asked to join the
University of Tokyo’s Research Center
for Advanced Science and Technology,
where he was involved in a number
of renewable energy projects ranging
from generation and storage to grid
distribution. He was a leading member
of the university’s Solar Quest project
and played a key role in guiding
standardization activities in this field
both in and outside campus.
In parallel with Solar Quest, Tomita
launched his think tank, GENNAI
(Global Energy Navigating and Nature
Apprehension Interdisciplinary: an
international research association
pursuing the harmony of global energy
and environmental issues) to conduct
research on strategic planning and
assessment for the development of
renewable or green technologies, by
integrating the expertise of world-class
researchers, key industry people and
policymakers.
New venture
In 2009, Tomita established a venture
company, Smart Solar International Inc.,
aiming to develop innovative CPV
(concentrated photovoltaic) systems.
A factory was built in the Sendai area in
Northern Japan. In 2011 the region was
struck by an 8.9-magnitude earthquake
that set off a devastating tsunami. The
factory had just opened but Tomita
continued its operation, recruited
victims, and started installing solar
systems in the region.
Important IEC role
Takashi Tomita became a member of
the MSB soon after the management
body’s inception. As such, in 2010 he
was tasked with setting up a special
Through research and analysis, the
group rapidly pinpointed one area the
IEC should focus on: very large-scale
power storage and recommended the
development of a specific roadmap. The
IEC White Paper Grid integration of largecapacity Renewable Energy sources and
use of large-capacity Electrical Energy
Storage, published in 2012, is a direct
result of the group’s work.
In October 2011, Tomita left the MSB.
After the earthquake, he had started
to be involved in several national
projects in the solar energy field, and it
became impossible for him to continue
to serve as an MSB member.
An ardent defender of the solar
industry
As a Committee Member of the
Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard
of METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade
and Industry), an Advisory Board
Member of the Nara Institute of
Science and Technology, and a visiting
professor at Tohoku University, he
showed unswerving support for the
solar industry throughout the years.
The IEC White Paper Grid integration of largecapacity Renewable Energy sources and use
of large-capacity Electrical Energy Storage is
a direct result of the work done by the special
working group Technology and Market Watch
IEC WORLD
International Standards for sustainable
energy
IEA, IEC and ISO joint workshop 13 March 2014, Paris
Janice Blondeau
Forging closer links between policy
makers, renewable energy and
energy effi ciency stakeholders and
standards developers is the focus
of a workshop to be held in Paris
next month.
Bringing key players together
IEC, who is co-hosting the workshop,
along with IEA (International Energy
Agency) and ISO (International
Organization for Standardization),
welcomes this opportunity to improve
the engagement of those active in
international standardization and to
ensure that international standards
support the transition towards more
sustainable energy systems.
The workshop aims to ensure that
international standards...
...support the transition towards more
sustainable energy systems
A key topic to be explored during
the workshop is how to facilitate the
development and use of systemic
approaches both within policy making
and standardization.
of international standards. How to
ensure sustained dialogue between
standardization and policy making,
and developing international standards
and policies that jointly support energy
efficiency and renewable energy will
also be discussed at the workshop.
The workshop aims to bring together
policy makers, representatives
from international standardization
organisations and other key
stakeholders who work to promote
energy efficiency and renewable energy.
Linking policy and standardization
Discussions are planned on how to
improve the collaboration between
the key players so as to better
communicate and assess available
standards, and identify gaps and
opportunities for the development
Responding to the global energy
challenge
Strengthening the positive contribution
of international standards to respond to
the global energy challenge is another
objective of the workshop. This is
particularly in relation to:
• The climate change due to the
impact of the use of fossil energies
on greenhouse gas emissions
• The physical, economic and
environmental constraints on the
availability of energy
• The need to enable a broader
access to sustainable energy in
support of economic and social
development.
International standards are a tool to respond to the global energy challenge
A few places still available
Attendance at this workshop is by
invitation only. However if you are
interested in one of the limited places that
is still available please contact the IEC.
45
IEC WORLD
Allow interoperability/Secure investment
Thembani Bukula, Regulator Member, NERSA (National Energy Regulator
of South Africa)
Claire Marchand
IEC Global Visions interviewed
Thembani Bukula, Regulator
Member at NERSA (National
Energy Regulator of South Africa).
In this interview, he explains
why the use of IEC International
Standards and participation
in IEC work allow countries to
ensure that investment in national
electrical infrastructure is secure,
reliable, safe and affordable.
Standards: A working tool for
regulators
Bukula says that standards play a
very important role in his work – he is
responsible for electricity regulation in
South Africa – as they provide a body
of knowledge that is crucial for the
design, installation and maintenance
of infrastructure. They allow regulators
to reduce the cost of electricity supply,
making it more reliable, safe and
affordable.
IEC brings many benefits
Bukula, who is a member of the
IEC Council Board, further explains
that being part of the IEC has many
benefi ts, including easy access to the
pool of knowledge and experience
of engineers across the whole world.
Participating in standardization work
and using International Standards
is also an asset when they plan
investments because they are no
longer limited to investors and suppliers
from their own country. In his own
word, they have the world to choose
from and, as a result, by getting the
most competitive prices, they end up
with relatively affordable products or
services.
On the importance of using
International Standards rather than
national ones, Bukula answers
with some real-life examples where
government agencies or companies
ended up losing money because they
had opted for the cheapest product
and compliance with International
Standards had gone unheeded.
Learning the hard way
Bukula remembers one instance
where the South African government
decided to install solar water heaters
in low-income housing as part of an
effort to improve the residents’ quality
of life. With a view to cutting costs,
the cheapest products available
were selected but the government
soon realized they were mistaken.
Cheap, untested, non-standardized
water heaters were difficult to install
IEC WORLD
electric vehicles: they will need to
be charged but can also become a
power source when they are parked.
Overall there is a convergence of
many different technologies that will
necessitate an electrical system that is
smart, safe and capable of meeting all
these many requirements.
Bukula confirms that regulators play
a big role in what ultimately gets
used or selected as the appropriate
technology in the country. They are
implementers of policy but they also
influence the formulation of that policy.
Additionally, once the policy is in
place, they are the ones who look at a
strategy for introducing renewables.
Thembani Bukula, Regulator Member, NERSA
because they didn’t easily connect,
didn’t perform as promised by the
vendor and some of them even fell
off the roofs because of installation
flaws. Learning from this experience,
the government required that all solar
heaters be tested and certified to IEC
Be competitive, use International
Standards
Bukula says they try to explain to
small and medium companies who
want to export that they are better
off using international standards.
To prove his case, Bukula cites
companies that obtained important
contracts, exported their goods and
then just didn’t get the certification
in the destination country. They not
only had to pay for the products to be
shipped there…and back but also for
other costs, not to mention the loss of
reputation they suffered.
In effect, when companies dispense
with buying standardized components
and certifying their products to
keep costs at a minimum, the
consequences may involve much
more than they bargained for.
This is why, Bukula says, in South
Africa regulations specify that when
purchasing products or services,
those must meet IEC International
Standards.
Challenges in improving the
infrastructure
Asked about the challenges
he is facing in his line of work,
Bukula explains that the electrical
infrastructure in most countries, South
Africa included, is more than 50 years
old and, in some cases, close to the
end of its useful life as far as design
specifications are concerned.
The first challenge is how to maintain
and improve it. The second comes
from the fact that, in the past, the
technologies they invested in were not
necessarily the most energy-efficient
ones. The need is now to move to an
economy that is much more energyconscious and efficient.
World Bank investment
For South Africa, as for many other
countries, another incentive to use
International Standards comes from
the World Bank. The projects they
support and fund must meet IEC
Bukula cites the case of the South
African utility Eskom, which recently
received a USD 3,75 billion loan from
the World Bank. Project specifications
required Eskom to build power
stations that meet a number of IEC
Bukula adds that the World Bank
will enforce this clause even if the
beneficiary knows nothing about
the standards. Their goal is to build
something that is well designed, safe
and durable that will at the same time
allow them to recoup their investment.
Bukula adds that it is also essential
to include more renewable energies
and increase the ability to capture
power generated from many different
sources. As an example, he mentions
47
IN STORE
Single charger for notebook computers
Major step to help reduce e-waste
Janice Blondeau
Each year billions of external
chargers are shipped globally.
Power supplies for notebooks
weigh typically around 300 but
sometimes up to 600 grams, and
aren’t generally usable from one
computer to the next. Sometimes
they get lost or break, which can
mean that computers which still
work perfectly well are thrown
away. A new IEC Technical
Specification provides another
option…one single charger for
notebook computers and laptops.
One power supply for many
notebooks
IEC has announced the publication
of the first globally relevant Technical
Specification for a single external charger
for a wide range of notebook computers
and laptops, IEC TS 62700, DC power
supply for notebook computers. This
new IEC Technical Specification opens
the way to a significant and very real
reduction of e-waste related to power
supplies. It will allow consumers to use a
single external charger with a wide range
of notebook computers.
input of experts from many countries
around the world and has been
accepted by the National Committees
participating in IEC TC (Technical
Committee) 100: Audio, video and
multimedia systems and equipment.
A single charger for notebook computers
and laptops is provided for by IEC 62700
and CEO Frans Vreeswijk said, “The
IEC International Standards for the
universal charger for mobile phones
has been widely adopted by the mobile
phone industry and is already starting
to help reduce e-waste. A single
power supply covering a wide range of
notebook computers is the next step
in lowering e-waste and its impact on
our planet. I am proud that the IEC has
yet again managed to make the best
possible technical solution available.”
Real solution for a real issue
Even though some organizations
are discussing and examining the
merits of a universal power adapter
covering numerous ICT (Information
and Communications Technology)
devices, due to the technical realities,
this is likely still a long way from
being achievable. Therefore, rather
than chasing a dream that remains
out of reach today, the IEC has
leveraged its global technical expertise
to bring concrete solutions to the
market place. It is estimated that the
total e-waste related to all kinds of
chargers of ICT devices exceeds half
a million tons each year; basically the
equivalent of 500 000 cars.
IEC TS 62700, DC power supply for
notebook computers, comprises the
It covers critical aspects of external
chargers for notebook computers,
their connector and plug, as well as
safety, interoperability, performance
and environmental considerations.
This TS will also make it much easier
for external chargers to be reused
or replaced when needed. IEC work
ensures that the charger is reliable and
safe to use, and that it provides the
required level of performance.
IEC efforts to reduce e-waste
Commenting on this new Technical
Specification, IEC General Secretary
A significant and real reduction of e-waste related to power supplies is now possible...
IN STORE
In the footsteps of universal
charger for mobile phones
In 2011, the IEC published the first
globally relevant Standard for a
universal charger for data enabled
mobile phones. This work was
accomplished in the IEC with relevant
input by CENELEC and ITU-T, with
which the IEC has a long-standing
cooperation agreement. With a single
power supply covering a wide range
of notebook computers, the IEC has
achieved another important milestone
in the reduction of e-waste.
Now it’s over to industry to make use of
IEC TS 62700 and help reduce e-waste.
....through the single power supply for PCs and the universal charger for mobile phones
Protecting rights
Ensuring consumer satisfaction
Morand Fachot
Consumers are producing,
viewing, listening to and managing
an increasing volume of digital
content on devices in the
consumer electronics, mobile and
PC domains. They want to enjoy
and share this content across
different devices and locations in
their home environment. The DLNA
(Digital Living Network Alliance)
has developed guidelines that
allow the design of interoperable
devices and also protect the
commercial interests of content
providers.
DLNA-enabled devices can share digital
content over a network and protect it from
illegitimate use access
Framework for interoperable
devices
The DLNA, which brings together more
than 250 of the world’s most important
digital brands, has developed a
framework to allow the design of
interoperable devices. To achieve this it
has prepared DLNA Home Networked
Device Interoperability Guidelines that
are published as IEC International
Standards.
DLNA-enabled devices may include the
following: audio/video systems; digital
cameras, recorders, and camcorders;
DVD and Blu-ray; game consoles;
gateway/routers; PCs; electronic photo
frames; network attached storage;
mobile devices; printers; set-top boxes;
projectors; tablets; TV sets and other
appliances.
Multilayered interoperability
DLNA Interoperability Guidelines
identify a family of protocols and
standards that allow a wide selection
of devices to easily find, recognize
each other and connect to share digital
content.
To allow this, DLNA narrowed down a
plethora of protocols and standards to
a small set that enables digital devices
to connect easily. This set includes,
among others: DTCP-IP (Digital
Transmission Content Protection over
Internet Protocol) for link protection to
shield commercial content on home
networks; MPEG-2, MPEG-4, JPEG,
MP3 and other digital media coding
formats; HTTP quality of service
to transfer media content; UPnP
(Universal Plug and Play) for media
management, device discovery and
control and IP networking, as well as
various connectivity standards such as
Ethernet, Wi-Fi 802-11 or Wi-Fi Direct.
Allowing sharing of content across
devices
A key condition for the media industry
to allow sharing of its digital content
is to ensure that it is protected from
piracy and illegitimate redistribution.
49
IN STORE
DLNA Guidelines for DIS (DRM
Interoperability Solutions) that allow
the sharing of content that may be
protected by different DRM technologies
will be published in the coming weeks
as International Standard IEC 62481-4,
Digital living network alliance (DLNA)
home networked device interoperability
guidelines – Part 4: DRM interoperability
solutions.
This device acts as a DLNA-enabled bridge
between SD or USB storage media and
router (Photo: Planex)
DRM (digital rights management)
solutions have been developed that
guarantee this.
Using DTCP-IP DLNA has designed
methods that enable the secure
transfer and use of protected
commercial content among different
implementations on network media
devices.
Complex issues
Consumers acquire commercial
digital content from different sources
(Internet, cable or satellite TV), with
different usage rights and price points
(e.g. films streamed on a pay-perview basis or bought from an Internet
video download service). At the same
time they expect to be able to store,
transport and enjoy that content at any
location and on any device on their
wired or wireless home network using
consumer-friendly solutions.
Many tablets and mobile phones are DNLA-compatible (Photo: Samsung)
To allow this IEC 62481-4 provides
a comprehensive framework that
includes details and examples
of DLNA home networking
architecture and DLNA device
models as well as guidelines.
The Standard specifies DRM
interoperability technology guidelines
and references additional Standards
in the IEC 62481 series and other
Standards. It also gives examples
of download/upload copy/move
sequences.
IEC 62481-4 gives manufacturers
and developers the information they
need to build interoperable networked
platforms and devices for the digital
home for the benefit of users and
ensuring that the commercial interests
of content providers are duly protected
too. The ever growing choice and
acceptance of DLNA-enabled devices
validate the technology’s benefits.
EDITORIAL FOCUS - PREVIEW
Transportation
The March issue of e-tech will focus on transportation, from the role of the
IEC in the automotive industry to new modes of urban transportation and
maglev (magnetic levitation) high-speed trains. Smart transport and traffic
management will also be covered. And last but not least, light and heavy-duty
industrial vehicles, an important segment of the automotive industry that is
undergoing many developments with the emergence of electric vehicles.
Motor vehicles, whether they are EVs (electric vehicles), hybrids or powered
by internal combustion engines, contain an ever growing number of electric
and electronic parts. Consequently the role played by the IEC becomes more
important as well. Through its standardization and conformity assessment
work, the Commission ensures that electrical equipment and electronic
components used in these vehicles are of the highest quality and reliability
and help make cars safer and ever more energy-efficient.
Other types of EVs will be featured in this issue: the first Formula E (electric
racing cars) championship will make its debut in September 2014. Away
from the glamour of Grand Prix racing but indispensable nonetheless on
factory floors or warehouses, the trend in industrial vehicles is increasingly
to go all electric.
With a view to reduce pollution and become more energy-efficient, many cities
around the world are developing new public transit networks, such as electric
pods or cable cars depending on the terrain, and are encouraging emissionfree individual means of transport.
51
e-tech
News & views from the IEC
This is a special printout of IEC e-tech our electronic publication.
You can find a link to e-tech on the IEC homepage, or you can
access it at www.iec.ch/etech
If you would like to receive our monthly email notice telling you
when the latest edition of e-tech is available, you can subscribe
via the e-tech homepage. Click the button “Subscribe” or sign up
for an RSS feed.
Articles may be reproduced in whole or in part provided that
the source “IEC e-tech” is mentioned in full.
- Managing Editor e-tech: Claire Marchand
- Editor in chief: Gabriela Ehrlich
Articles published in e-tech represent the opinion of their
author and the IEC cannot be held responsible for content
matter or content.
IEC e-tech is published 10 times a year in English by the
International Electrotechnical Commission.
Copyright © IEC, Geneva, Switzerland. 2014.
INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
3 rue de Varembé
PO Box 131
CH-1211 Geneva 20
Switzerland
T 41 22 919 02 11
Contact: iecetech@iec.ch
For more information visit: www.iec.ch

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